Chapter 17: The End is Nigh! [Vote for Recommendation!]

Perhaps it was the overly complex environment in the deep mountains; the anticipated large-scale pursuers did not appear.

The three siblings, Lu Qingfeng, ran continuously for five months, with no idea how far they had traveled. In the beginning, the occasional enforcement disciple of the Returning to Truth Sect appeared, all of average strength, and were easily dealt with by Lu Qingfeng.

Later on, the pursuers gradually decreased.

After Lu Qingfeng narrowly killed a disciple of the Returning to Truth Sect at the Seventh Layer of the Fetal Breathing Realm, he never again encountered any pursuers.

The three siblings, still wary, ran for another two months, and only after being assured that the Returning to Truth Sect had given up did they stop to find a place to rest.

Five months had passed, fraught with countless dangers.

Apart from the relentless pursuers from behind, there were also the unpredictable wild beasts deep in the mountains.

A slight carelessness could lead to doom.

Nonetheless, during these five months.

Lu Qingfeng's progress was rapid, greatly increasing his ability to survive!

While fleeing with Lu Qingshan and Qingyu, he gathered herbs and refined numerous Yellow Dragon Pills, raising his cultivation to the Third Level of the Fetal Breathing Realm.

His practiced cultivation technique had long been switched from the Refined Level "Green Wood Flame Sun Scripture" to the Side Door Level "Qingyuan Sword Technique."

[Cultivation Technique: Qingyuan Sword Technique (Incomplete)]

[Grade: Side Door Level, total of nine layers]

[Derivation Technique: Five times enhancement]

[Characteristics: Qingyuan Sword Radiance, Body Protecting Sword Shield, Sword Shadow Splitting Light Skill, Da Geng Sword Formation, Three Transitions Rebirth]

[Description: Three thousand years ago, the signature supreme technique of the Qingyuan Sword Sect, currently incomplete]

This cultivation technique was a Refined Level incomplete technique found by Lu Qingfeng in "Primordial"; it only included parts up to the Fetal Breathing Realm.

For ordinary cultivators, this technique was truly a dilemma.

Although high grade, it could only be cultivated up to the Ninth Layer of the Fetal Breathing Realm, unable to break through to the True Qi Realm. And to complete a Refined Level technique, even a Golden Core Expert would need decades of hard work.

Therefore.

When this incomplete "Qingyuan Sword Technique" appeared, nobody cared for it.

But Lu Qingfeng regarded it as a supreme treasure and swiftly claimed it.

He had the Derivation Technique characteristic from the "Yellow Court Scripture," allowing him to enhance the "Qingyuan Sword Technique" as long as he had enough Experience Value, deriving subsequent techniques. The "Qingyuan Sword Technique" itself being Refined Level saved Lu Qingfeng a lot of experience value.

After acquiring it, through five enhancements, Lu Qingfeng incredibly raised the "Qingyuan Sword Technique" from Refined Level to Side Door Level.

New features in the cultivation technique's characteristics such as 'Qingyuan Sword Radiance', 'Body Protecting Sword Shield', 'Sword Shadow Splitting Light Skill', 'Da Geng Sword Formation', and 'Three Transitions Rebirth' were added on top of the existing ones.

However, with his current cultivation level, Lu Qingfeng only grasped 'Qingyuan Sword Radiance'. The remaining four characteristics required reaching corresponding levels to master.

Even so, once the Qingyuan Sword Radiance was unleashed, if a regular disciple at the Fetal Breathing Realm lacked self-defensive magic artifacts, defense techniques, or heavily trained martial arts, they would inevitably be defeated brutally!

In "Primordial," Refined Level techniques can be cultivated up to the Golden Core Realm.

And the Side Door Level techniques could aim straight for the heights of the Mahayana realm. Not to mention Black Sand Town, even the entire Seven Sword Mountain Range with its Seven Sword Sects don't possess techniques of this level.

Such a treasure was naturally extraordinary!

Each layer of the Side Door Level "Qingyuan Sword Technique" increased the Inner Breath cultivated by another magnitude compared to the prior "Green Wood Flame Sun Scripture"!

Currently only at the Third Level of Fetal Breathing Realm, Lu Qingfeng possessed a substantial Inner Breath, triple that of a disciple who practiced a Basic Level technique at the same realm!

Ordinary disciples at the Ninth Layer of the Fetal Breathing Realm wouldn't necessarily be his match!

Coupled with his martial arts and techniques that had undergone several enhancements, he found few equals in the Fetal Breathing Realm!

Of course.

More than two months ago, when fighting the enforcer of the Returning to Truth Sect at the Seventh Level of the Fetal Breathing Realm, Lu Qingfeng did not possess such capabilities. That battle was extremely dangerous, but fortunately, Lu Qingfeng had the upper hand and decapitated his enemy with a single sword strike!

The three siblings escaped disaster!

As Lu Qingfeng's strength improved greatly, Lu Qingshan and Qingyu also progressed.

Lu Qingshan's cultivation had reached the Second Level of the Fetal Breathing Realm. Following Lu Qingfeng, he practiced the "Qingyuan Sword Technique" and the Cloak Saber Technique, among others, making his combat strength far surpass his cultivation level, approximately on par with the Fifth or Sixth Level of the Fetal Breathing Realm.

Qingyu's talents were inferior, and her cultivation time was short. She had only just stepped into the First Level of the Fetal Breathing Realm, barely able to contend with the Third Level of the Fetal Breathing Realm.

"It seems that the Returning to Truth Sect has given up."

After more than five months, a distinctive presence had taken shape in Lu Qingfeng, an aura crafted by the flow of time coupled with murderous experiences, impossible to imitate by ordinary youths.

After all, although only a little over five months passed in reality, Lu Qingfeng in "Primordial" was about to complete a lifetime's journey.

...

Night fell.

Lu Qingfeng logged into the game.

It was still Black Sand Town, but Lu Qingfeng was no longer the youthful figure, having transformed into a hunched old man with a head full of silver hair.

Name: Lu Qingfeng

Race: Human

Faction: None

Title: None

Cultivation Level: Fifth Level of Fetal Breathing Realm

Level: 10 (25/50)

Life Span: 67/68

Inner Breath: 185/185 (Quality: Side Door Level)

Root Bone: 1

Merit: Unknown

Karma: Unknown

Cultivation Technique: Yellow Court Scripture First Layer (Perfection) [Technique characteristics: Derivation Technique (First Layer); Total Control Over All Techniques (First Layer); Karma Removal (First Layer)]; Qing Yuan Sword technique Fifth Layer (Perfection) [Derivable];

Magic Techniques: Fire Bomb Technique (Second Layer), Heavenly Eye Skill (Second Layer), Luo Smoke Step (Second Layer), Burning Heart Palm (Second Layer), White Jade True Technique (Second Layer), Cloak Saber Technique (Second Layer), True Yang Finger Skill (Second Layer), Wind Control Technique (Second Layer), Golden Light Skill (Second Layer), Entanglement Skill (Second Layer), Concealing Technique (Second Layer), Concealing Technique (Second Layer)

Divine Skills: None

Equipment: Low-level Storage Bag, Wolf-hair Talisman Pen, Peace Charm, Invisibility Talisman, Earth Tunneling Talisman, Fire Bomb Talisman...

Alchemy: Alchemy Introduction; Alchemy Analysis; Basic Herb Manual... Elixir Pills that can be refined: Fasting Pill, Yellow Dragon Pill, Spirit Clearing Powder, Recovery Breath Pill, Nourishing Essence Pill, Charming Fragrance Pill, Yellow Chestnut Pills, Heart Corrosion Pill, Breathing Cultivation Pill, Essence Qi Pill

Talisman Refining: Detailed Guide to the Six Common Dan Sands, Basics of Talisman Paper, Complete Collection of Low-level Talismans... Talismans that can be drawn: Peace Charm, Invisibility Talisman, Earth Tunneling Talisman, Fire Bomb Talisman, Rejuvenation Talisman, Golden Light Talisman

Artifact Refining: Artifact Refining Basics, Detailed Guide to Crafting the Tongling Talisman Pen. Magic artifacts that can be refined: Wolf-hair Talisman Pen

Tame Beast: Lark (*9)

...

This luxuriously detailed character panel represents Lu Qingfeng's achievements over more than five months on the run and nearly fifty years in-game!

Looking back.

The year Lu Qingfeng mastered the refining of Yellow Dragon Pills, he had just turned twenty-five in the game. Then came the first wave of the Returning to Truth Sect's pursuers, and he began his escape.

He traveled during the day and logged into "Primordial" at night to study the art of talisman refining.

For a full forty-two years, he had mastered the refining of six different talismans: peace charms, invisibility talismans, earth tunneling talismans, fire bomb talismans, rejuvenation talismans, and golden light talismans.

Meanwhile, his alchemy never fell behind.

After the Fasting Pills and Yellow Dragon Pills, he gradually mastered eight more elixirs: Spirit Clearing Powder, Recovery Breath Pill, Nourishing Essence Pill, Charming Fragrance Pill, Yellow Chestnut Pills, Heart Corrosion Pill, Breathing Cultivation Pill, and Essence Qi Pill.

'Dan and Talisman Double Master' Lu Qingfeng!

This title was extremely prestigious in the entire Black Sand Town.

Whether it was talismans or elixir pills crafted by Lu Qingfeng, though they were all of the lowest grade, their power and quality far surpassed those of other alchemists and talisman refining masters.

This was thanks to the Derivation Technique characteristics, as well as the vast amounts of Experience Value that Lu Qingfeng invested.

"It is time."

Lu Qingfeng sat cross-legged in the alchemy room, calling over his four disciples who he had taken in over the years.

Soon.

Two young men and two middle-aged men entered, bowing deeply to Lu Qingfeng and addressing him as 'Master'.

"You four have served by my side, some for more than twenty years, others for at least ten. My time in this world is up, out of fondness of our master-disciple bond, I leave these to you."

Lu Qingfeng looked at his four disciples, waved his sleeve, and a shower of jade scrolls scattered down, each landing in front of them.

"Master!"

Peng Hai, Lei He, Yao Jiusi, and Ji Fu knelt down, looking at their silver-haired master, feeling a rush of mixed emotions.

Back in the day.

When Lu Qingfeng took them under his wing, they began to study the arts of alchemy and talisman refining. Although they just assisted, they learned a lot. Over the years, as the fellow disciples were unable to learn their master's true arts and joined the Imperial City Sect, they left one after another.

In the end, only these four remained.

Although they also joined the Imperial City Sect, unlike the others who rarely returned, they remained in Black Sand Town and often visited their master.

They never expected any rewards, but today they were pleasantly surprised.

The low-level talismans and low-level elixirs produced by 'Master Qingfeng' were second to none in Black Sand Town and the entire Elephant King City region.

Once refined, they were never short of buyers.

If they could inherit his mantle, at least in the initial stage at the Imperial City Sect, they would not have to worry about cultivation resources!

"Master, I have heard that there are spirit grasses on Thunder Mountain that can extend one's life span. I've asked around, and there should be news soon!" Peng Hai said to Lu Qingfeng.

"There's no need."

"Life and death are predestined, why insist upon them!"

Lu Qingfeng shook his head.

How rare are spirit grasses that extend one's life span? Even if he could find them, it wasn't something a low-level alchemist or low-level talisman refining master like himself could afford.

It's better to go through reincarnation with dignity and live a carefree life again.

Over the years, Lu Qingfeng rarely left Black Sand Town. After sending off his four disciples, Lu Qingfeng packed up and left Black Sand Town.

...