Chapter 21: Xu Clan Opens the Sinews, Bull Demon Takes the Stage
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Li Che's eyes suddenly narrowed at the words, a chill instantly spreading throughout his body, starting from his scalp and spreading down his spine to his limbs and bones!
"This Magistrate's Chief Constable Zhao Chuanxiong... has a problem?"
Li Che took a deep breath.
Old Chen, holding Xixi, had a serious expression but shook his head: "Of course, it's also possible he got the information from somewhere else, but I feel that Zhao Chuanxiong is likely up to something."
"Given his position as a chief constable, this flaw wouldn't be so obvious. It's more like..." Old Chen's eyes involuntarily narrowed.
"It's like those Spirit Child Sect followers who leave spirit infant statues at your door, a kind of ritual..."
Old Chen's words made Li Che's heart heavy, and a strong urge to kill surged within him.
According to what Old Chen said, Zhao Chuanxiong... might be involved with the Spirit Child Sect?
"The Magistrate's Chief Constable... could be involved with the Spirit Child Sect?"
Li Che asked in a deep voice.
Old Chen laughed upon hearing this: "Your words... it's said that the current prime minister of Dajing worships divine deities. Why can't a mere chief constable be involved with the Spirit Child Sect?"
After saying this, Old Chen's expression became solemn: "The Spirit Child Sect originates from a mysterious temple... they possess Divine Essence Techniques, which are a great temptation for many martial cultivators."
"The waters of the Spirit Child Sect are much deeper than you can imagine."
Divine Essence Technique?
Li Che's heart shuddered upon hearing this.
"However, staying in the Xu Family Wood Carving Shop will still be safer for you. These people won't dare to act rashly. I live next door and will keep an eye on things for you."
"Spirit infants..." Old Chen shook his head, looking at Xixi in his arms with a loving gaze.
"Being too spiritually endowed is not a good thing... it's the source of calamity."
The wind and snow howled, sweeping across the sky and earth.
Li Che stood straight, gazing at Zhao Chuanxiong, who had disappeared into the snowstorm.
The Dao Fruit [Dragon-Elephant Vajra] in his chest was throbbing, as if dragons were roaring and elephants were trumpeting!
"Old Chen, what level of cultivation does Zhao Chuanxiong have?"
Li Che's eyes narrowed as he asked.
Old Chen, holding Xixi, was slightly taken aback. This scene seemed... familiar.
Previously, Li Che had asked about Sun Changbiao's cultivation level.
However, he didn't suspect anything, given that he had seen Li Che's cultivation himself.
"As the Magistrate's Chief Constable of the outer city, Zhao Chuanxiong's cultivation is not weak. He should be at the Bone Tempering Realm, and in terms of Internal Energy, he likely reached the third level during our brief clash. In the outer city, he is definitely a top-notch expert."
"As for whether he has cultivated divine essence, I cannot be certain."
Old Chen's expression was serious and solemn. Zhao Chuanxiong's cultivation was truly not weak. If he had divine essence, even he... might not be able to defeat him.
Li Che nodded, exhaling slightly.
It seems that killing Zhao Chuanxiong immediately... might be a bit difficult.
Of course, all of this was just speculation by Old Chen and him, so the next step would be to investigate whether Zhao Chuanxiong was indeed involved with the Spirit Child Sect.
If he is...
He must be killed.
Otherwise, having such a strong person constantly eyeing his precious daughter Xixi would make him feel like sitting on pins and needles.
"Old Chen, didn't you say you had Internal Energy techniques for sale? Sell me one..."
...
...
In the wood carving shop, inside the workshop.
Xu Beihu had someone move the timber prepared by the Si family's young master to his workshop.
It was a piece of high-quality Phoebe wood, not too young.
Knowing that Li Che's cultivation was not high and he had not cultivated Internal Energy, Xu Beihu had the wood dried with Internal Energy beforehand so that Li Che could start carving immediately.
Li Che sat in a chair, taking out the pattern Xu Beihu had given him, which was the "Nine-Headed Bodhisattva Crying Ghost Suppression Diagram." The intricate design was even more complex than he had imagined.
The one-month deadline was a bit tight.
Studying the pattern carefully, he saw that the Bodhisattva had nine heads, all in a state of crying and lamenting, though each one was different, they all had a predominant tone of sorrow.
After looking at it for a long time, Li Che even felt his emotions being affected, his nose tingling, and a desire to weep.
His heart suddenly jolted, his eyes narrowing.
"Divine essence... divine essence... truly bizarre and terrifying."
As Old Chen had said, the cultivation of divine essence was the most profound and terrifying aspect of cultivation, and Li Che finally had a taste of it.
He patted the large piece of Phoebe wood on the worktable, feeling it over, and formed a spatial pattern in his mind, planning the proportions, measurements, and angles.
Then he took a brush and began to draw lines on the Phoebe wood.
After completing the outline, he took out a carving knife, focused his eyes, and began to make the first cut.
...
...
Three days later.
In a courtyard in the outer city.
Snowflakes were flying, drifting down from the sky, but before they could reach Li Che's body, they were torn apart by a powerful flow of qi.
Li Che maintained a strange posture, his waist twisted nearly ninety degrees, his arms crossed, and his qi flowing in a unique pattern.
An invisible current seemed to be swirling around him, surging like a great river!
Li Che did not stimulate the [Dragon-Elephant Vajra] to enter the Vajra Transformation state; he simply released the qi and strength accumulated in the Dao Fruit without suppressing his cultivation.
"Xu Family Nine Sinew Method."
The Tendon Opening technique Li Che had found in the market.
It was a mid-level Tendon Opening technique, better than the lower-level, mass-market techniques that cost twenty to thirty taels of silver.
The Xu Family could only provide him with such a technique. They naturally had higher-quality Tendon Opening techniques, but those were for their own descendants and were not allowed to be leaked outside.
In the market, such techniques were virtually unavailable, unless a noble family fell and their techniques leaked out, otherwise, they were impossible to buy.
A high-level Tendon Opening technique could cost over a thousand taels of silver.
This was just for Tendon Opening; the subsequent Bone Tempering and Blood Replacement techniques would be even more expensive!
Buzz—!
The large tendons were taut, like a drawn bowstring, emitting a buzzing sound.
His entire body was flushed red, and the tendons under the skin seemed to twist and wriggle like dragons, brimming with immense power.
Gradually, his body relaxed.
He exhaled a long, hot breath, melting the falling snow.
"Opening one large tendon, I've entered the Tendon Opening stage... my strength has increased significantly compared to when I was just toughening my skin."
A smile appeared on Li Che's lips.
His eyes sparkled.
[Dao Fruit: Dragon-Elephant Vajra (lv1, 10%)]
A notification appeared.
When he successfully opened a tendon, the maturity of the Dragon-Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit increased by 5%, reaching 10%!
In other words, opening one large tendon increased the Dao Fruit's maturity by 5%. The Xu Family Nine Sinew Method required opening nine tendons in total.
When the Dao Fruit's maturity reached 50%, he would have completed Tendon Opening!
Li Che's eyes shone brightly, and his mood improved significantly.
If he practiced diligently every day, refining his body, the Dao Fruit's maturity would increase by 1%...
"In other words, if I practice diligently, in forty days..."
"I will complete Tendon Opening!"
To hide his cultivation, Li Che deliberately rented a spacious courtyard outside the shop for his own practice.
After all, the Xu Family training ground was crowded, and Li Che couldn't fully exert himself there.
Stimulating the Dao Fruit, his qi surged outward, his skin turned red, and his body writhed and stretched, his spine roaring like a dragon.
Li Che felt the Vajra Transformation after breaking through Tendon Opening...
"My strength has increased significantly, about doubled. If a punch used to have a thousand pounds of force, now it's probably two thousand pounds."
"My reactions and speed have also improved, roughly doubling."
Li Che's lips curved up. After testing, he finally confirmed that Vajra Transformation was related to his own cultivation.
The stronger his cultivation, the greater the enhancement provided by the Dao Fruit!
"Two thousand pounds of force is a small achievement in the Bone Tempering Realm. It's said that a major achievement in Bone Tempering can have five thousand pounds of force, and a perfect achievement can reach ten thousand pounds! The burst is extremely terrifying..."
"Additionally, I successfully cultivated a strand of Internal Energy from the Snake Internal Energy technique I bought from Old Chen... with my Dao Fruit [Dragon-Elephant Vajra], my martial cultivation is extremely fast!"
Li Che smiled brightly, raising his hand, with a strand of invisible qi swirling in his palm like a small snake in a pond, brimming with explosive power.
He clenched his fingers, and the qi vanished.
Li Che's eyes flickered, his robust and muscular body wrapped in a loose coat, a bamboo hat on his head.
He placed the Cute Bull Wood Carving Mask on his face, and instantly, his entire demeanor changed, transforming into the Bull Demon, a wanted criminal by the authorities!
Killing intent surged, and his aura was fearsome.
On a snowy night, the Bull Demon set out.
(End of Chapter)