Qi Cultivation Starting from the Repair Panel

Drip-drop—

The cold rain beat against her face as Miao Luan's thoughts gradually became clear.

Struggling to raise her head, she looked at the boy in front of her who appeared to be no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, and quickly recognized him:

"You are... Chu Zheng? What are you doing here?"

A moment later, her expression slightly stunned as she sensed the aura emanating from Chu Zheng's body, her eyes suddenly flashing a trace of disbelief:

"You've entered the path?!"

Before the words had finished, she curled up in agony due to the severe pain coming from her dantian, gasping for breath, with cold sweat mixing with the rainwater and seeping into the muddy puddles beneath her.

But the pain coursing through her body was nothing compared to the shock rising in her heart.

Information about Chu Zheng had long been relayed to her by the Tai Xu Holy Land, and the person before her, having stepped onto the Immortal Path for barely a year, had already entered the path!

This was too inconceivable; searching through the entire existing history of the Cangyun Realm, one would not find such a person.

A Superior Immortal Bone definitely did not possess such speed; Chu Zheng must have some special physique unknown to others, or he might even be a Celestial Lord reincarnated to cultivate anew.

Otherwise, Chu Zheng's abnormal cultivation speed was simply inexplicable.

"If you have nothing to exchange for your life, you can start preparing for your next one already."

Chu Zheng's tone was flat as the Town Immortal Mace slowly rose, pressing against Miao Luan's forehead.

With a swing of his mace, he could make Miao Luan completely disappear from this world, annihilating both her form and spirit.

"What do you want?"

Miao Luan tried her best to maintain a calm demeanor, speaking slowly, "Spirit Stones? Elixirs? Or Magic Treasures and Divine Weapons? Everything I have can be given to you."

"Right now, you have nothing."

Chu Zheng shook his head, denying Miao Luan's words, and directly reached out to take the silver bracelet off her wrist.

[Flowing Light Jade Ring (Third Order): A space magic treasure, containing a minute universe within, crafted with delicate techniques, engraved with two arrays, possessing the effects of 'Gathering Spirit' and 'Dust Avoidance'.]

Chu Zheng extended his Divine Sense to sweep over it; as a cultivator with the Holy Land True Transmission, Miao Luan's assets did not seem very rich. In fact, they seemed rather meager.

One High-Quality Magic Treasure, two Middle-Quality Magic Treasures, a few Elixirs, and the sum of Spirit Stones barely amounted to about a hundred thousand Lower-Quality Spirit Stones, which, when converted to High-Quality, amounted to less than a thousand.

Unsurprisingly, Chu Zheng did not find any traces of Martial Arts and Secret Techniques. Obviously, the Sect-Defending Secret Scripture of the Tai Xu Holy Land, being an Immortal Ascension Method like the Taixuan Divine Fire Scripture, required the transmission through a Jade Token.

Miao Luan keenly noticed the flicker of disappointment that crossed Chu Zheng's face, chilling her heart.

After a brief inventory, Chu Zheng looked at Miao Luan again and reminded her:

"The things you have on you are now my spoils of war, including the clothes you are wearing; they belong to me too. What I want now is something from your mind."

Today, Miao Luan had caused quite a bit of trouble for Chu Zheng. Had it not rained, facing so many Soul Condensing Monks, he would have had to use quite a few techniques to escape, not to mention counter-killing.

He, at least, wanted to find a way to recoup his losses.

"You want the Great Void Scripture?!"

Miao Luan's face changed slightly, instantly grasping Chu Zheng's intention. The most valuable thing in her mind was undoubtedly the Sect-Defending Secret Scripture of the Tai Xu Holy Land. Upon realizing this, she couldn't help but wonder:

"You already have the Taixuan Divine Fire Scripture; what use would you have for the Great Void Scripture?"

"Recite it so I may listen."

Chu Zheng was not inclined to explain to Miao Luan, taking out a Jade Talisman, ready to start recording.

He wasn't worried about Miao Luan lying; the truth or falsehood would naturally be revealed by the tablet.

Seeing this, Miao Luan did not resist and immediately began to recite the opening mantra of the Great Void Scripture:

"The Great Void, its energy flows through the universe, elusive and unfixed; among all things in this world, only water has no constant form. Cultivation should be like flowing downstream, finding strength in softness, like the vast and surging clouds, braving the rapids with courage..."

If she didn't heal her injuries quickly, even if Chu Zheng didn't kill her, she would die from the severity of her wounds. Even if she didn't die, it would leave hidden dangers for her future cultivation.

She didn't want to die here. Her path to becoming an Immortal had just begun; if she were to be buried here, she would die with regrets.

Miao Luan took a deep breath and chanted for a moment before finally stopping.

[Great Void Scripture (Eighth Order/Incomplete): Sect-Defending Secret Scripture of Tai Xu Holy Land, extremely suitable for cultivators associated with water, when cultivated to the pinnacle, one can become a True Immortal. With your current ability, it cannot be repaired.]

"That's it?"

Looking at the prompt on the panel, Chu Zheng slightly frowned. The cultivation technique Miao Luan reported only went up to the Tongxuan Secret Realm; she hadn't revealed even a bit of the next two levels of the Immortal Ascension Method.

"The part I have access to only goes up to this point. All true transmissions are like this."

Miao Luan nodded with some difficulty, her pale face seeking confirmation: "Is this enough to trade for my life?"

Hearing this, Chu Zheng fell into contemplation.

For the purpose of repairing the panel, the Seventh Order seemed to be a threshold that blocked many things.

This was true for the Great Void Scripture, and it was the same with the Damaged Immortal Bone found in that ancient battlefield. Once the quality surpassed the Seventh Order, the repair seemed entirely different, with significant limitations.

After a long moment of contemplation, Chu Zheng came back to his senses, put away the Jade Token in his hand, and nodded: "This is enough to trade for your life."

Before joy could appear on Miao Luan's face, Chu Zheng spoke again:

"You owe me three lives in total; this only buys you one. You still owe me two lives."

Miao Luan's expression froze, her voice trembling a bit: "How do I owe you so much?"

Chu Zheng had always been a reasonable person; his words were not meant to bully Miao Luan in her dire situation.

He immediately stretched out his hand, counted on his fingers, and began to straighten out Miao Luan's thoughts:

"You were supposed to die at the hands of those cultivators today. I saved you; that's one life."

"Secondly, you brought trouble to me. I repaid your malice with kindness, not only saving you but also killing those cultivators for you. That's the second life."

"Thirdly..."

Chu Zheng's eyes turned cold as he spoke:

"Some time ago, you tampered with that inner alchemy. I didn't kill you for that, and that is the third life."

Miao Luan listened, dazed. As she came to her senses and looked around at the courtyard reduced to ruins, the expression on her face became even more splendid.

Before passing out, her consciousness was already somewhat unclear, and only now did she realize that Chu Zheng and the Grandmaster of Alchemy were the same person.

With such formidable cultivation and profound accomplishments in the Alchemy Dao, Miao Luan was growing increasingly suspicious that the man before her was an old monster who had lived for who knows how long.

After a long silence, Miao Luan spoke in a deep voice:

"Now that I am all alone, with only this broken body left, if you ask for compensation, I..."

"I am already married, and furthermore..."

Before Miao Luan could finish, Chu Zheng shook his head again and again and then sized up Miao Luan for a while before saying softly:

"Do you think I would be up for anything?"

As these words reached her ears, Miao Luan's palm tightened, and her fingertips dug deep into the earth, her teeth clenching tightly with a grating sound.

She tried her best to calm her thoughts and took deep breaths for a while before falling into contemplation again.

A moment later, Miao Luan spoke again: "Apart from the Great Void Scripture, the only thing I have left to pass on to you is the Tai Yuan Dragon Sword Dance."

"Tai Yuan Dragon Sword Dance?"

Upon hearing this name, Chu Zheng's gaze suddenly sharpened.