37: Chapter 37 The True Meaning of Wind and Thunder, Space Changes, Demonic Traces Reappear

Breaking through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, Ye Qing could clearly feel the qualitative change in the power within his body.

His Spiritual Qi was like mercury, viscous and heavy, with the faint sound of wind and thunder accompanying its circulation; the sense of harmony in the rotation of the Five Elements became increasingly clear, as if every gesture could resonate with the thin Spiritual Qi in the surroundings.

His Divine Sense perception range broke through to fifteen zhang, allowing him to capture insect chirps and beast calls from further away, the trajectory of dust floating in the air, and even vaguely sense the wriggling of earthworms several feet deep underground.

His perception of spatial fluctuations, due to the integration of the "void wind seed", had reached a whole new level.

He could detect subtle spatial ripples within three to five feet around him, which were difficult for ordinary people to perceive, as if the whole world had an extra layer of invisible, fluctuating "gauze" in his eyes.

"Is this the Late Stage of Qi Refining... Compared to the Middle Stage, it is indeed a world of difference."

Ye Qing felt calm in his heart, neither sad nor happy.

This was just a natural node on the road of steady development.

He spent three full days in the hidden cave consolidating his cultivation and getting familiar with his newfound strength.

He re-tempered and controlled the Spiritual Qi of the Qi Refining Seventh Layer until he could use it as easily as his own arm.

He used the Divine Refining Technique to temper his surging Divine Sense, and under the nourishment of the "moonlight heart-clearing powder" and the jade tree, his Divine Soul became increasingly tenacious and clear, and his perception became sharper and more refined.

He carried out a new round of optimization and deduction for self-created Spells like the "Pseudo-Fireball Technique", "Triangular Spirit Shield", and Light Body Technique, combining them with the trace of the true meaning of spatial storms contained in the newly acquired "void wind seed", as well as his deeper understanding of the Five Elements.

The "Pseudo-Fireball Technique" could try to integrate a trace of the swiftness and flickering nature of "wind" to improve speed and trajectory changes.

The "Triangular Spirit Shield" could incorporate the force-deflecting and tenacious nature of the "Void Realm" to enhance defense against special attacks.

The Light Body Technique could directly draw upon the true meaning of "wind" and "space"; perhaps he could deduce a prototype of "Instant Step" for short distances?

Ideas poured out like a spring, and with the blessing of super high Comprehension Ability in space, countless hypotheses were quickly verified, adjusted, and perfected.

On this day, he finished Cultivating and sank his consciousness into the space.

The sixty-zhang world had already taken initial shape.

The gray fog at the edge was thick and slowly circulating, like the fetal membrane of a world.

In the twenty-zhang black soil in the center, the jade luster was brilliant, and the Spiritual Qi mist was so dense that it turned into wisps of spiritual rain falling.

The moonlight jade tree had silver brilliance like silk, and its three fruits were increasingly crystalline, with majestic vitality.

The earliest planted moonlight flower had already broken through the twenty-year quality, with even brighter silver brilliance.

The iron wire vine twisted and climbed, its vine body dark red and nearly black, with metallic luster circulating.

The night firefly grass, purple thread grass, and dozens of experimental Spiritual Plants planted later mostly grew well, and under the nourishment of moonlight and Five Elements Spiritual Qi, many had already shown traits superior to their counterparts in the outside world.

That "void wind seed" still floated beside the jade tree, quietly absorbing moonlight and spatial energy.

The screw patterns on the surface of the seed rotated slowly, with miniature storms circulating inside, and the spatial and wind fluctuations it emitted vaguely echoed with the "Void Turbulence Zone" about a zhang wide at the edge of the space.

The turbulence zone remained weak, with chaotic airflow and a slight tearing sensation, but it had initially stabilized.

Ye Qing tried to separate a wisp of Divine Sense to probe it, but immediately felt a slight tearing and dizziness, so he hurriedly withdrew.

"It contains a trace of the true meaning of spatial tearing and storms... Although dangerous, if I can comprehend it, it will be of great benefit to understanding the Laws of space, deducing wind-attribute, and even spatial-attribute attack and defense methods."

He listed this "Void Turbulence Zone" as a key object for observation and comprehension.

The three Wind-Splitting Falcon corpses, Yao Beast cores, and Materials piled in the "waste area" had been mostly absorbed and transformed by the space.

The fed-back energy continued to nourish the space, pushing it to grow slowly and firmly.

Withdrawing from the space, Ye Qing left the hidden cave.

He needed actual combat to test the strength of the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, sharpen his newly deduced Spells, and simultaneously continue collecting resources.

This time, he chose the direction deeper into the Black Water Swamp, aiming for a dangerous place marked as "Wind-Roar Ravine" on the map.

According to the records, "Wind-Roar Ravine" had strange winds blowing all year round, the sound of the wind was like ghosts crying and wolves howling, and the ravine was rich in a first-grade Spirit Medicine called "wind spirit grass", which was an auxiliary material for refining certain wind-attribute Medicinal Pills or drawing speed-enhancing talismans.

It was also the habitat for some wind-attribute Yao Beasts.

For Ye Qing, who had just obtained the "void wind seed" and had a trace of insight into the wind attribute, this place might yield unexpected gains.

He cast the Breath Concealment Technique, keeping his aura at around Qi Refining Level 4, and walked towards "Wind-Roar Ravine" at a steady pace.

The road was indeed deserted, the wind grew stronger, and the vegetation was blown askew.

The air was filled with rich wind Spiritual Qi, but it was also mixed with a faint stench and a sense of danger.

After walking about twenty miles, the terrain dropped sharply, and a deep, bottomless mountain ravine with steep cliffs on both sides and a width of over ten zhang appeared before his eyes.

The wind roared in the ravine like thousands of ghosts crying and howling, rolling up gravel and withered leaves, forming chaotic airflow vortices.

His vision was blocked, and his Divine Sense probing was also interfered with by the wild wind, making it difficult to reach far.

Ye Qing stopped at the entrance of the ravine and observed intently.

The wind spirit grass liked the wind and mostly grew in wind gaps or cliff crevices.

His eyes were sharp, and he soon found a few clusters of slender, pale green Spiritual Plants swaying in the wind in a wind-sheltered crack on the left cliff; it was indeed wind spirit grass, looking to be about ten years old.

He was just about to go up and pick them.

Roar—!

A low, violent beast roar suddenly came from the deep wind in the ravine!

Immediately after, a huge, blue-gray figure, riding the violent gale, rushed out from the ravine like a cannonball, aiming straight at Ye Qing!

It was a hideous Yao Beast with a body comparable to a giant elephant, covered in thick blue-gray scales, with a single horn on its head, a pair of short fleshy wings on its back, and thick limbs like pillars!

Its aura was violent, reaching the peak of the first stage, equivalent to a Cultivator at the Perfection of Qi Refining!

Moreover, its body was wrapped in demonic wind, its speed was extremely fast, and its momentum was terrifying!

"Ground-Splitting Rhinoceros? No! It's a 'Wind-Gale Rhinoceros'! First stage peak, possessing infinite strength, thick skin and flesh, and it can control the wind gale to accelerate its charge; even ordinary Cultivators at the Perfection of Qi Refining would have to detour if they saw it!"

Ye Qing recognized the beast instantly, his heart solemn.

Unexpectedly, such a ferocious creature was hidden in "Wind-Roar Ravine"! No wonder this place was deserted!

The Wind-Gale Rhinoceros had blood-red eyes, clearly regarding him as prey that had invaded its territory, lowered its head to aim its cold-glinting single horn at Ye Qing, kicked the ground with its hind limbs, surged with demonic wind, increased its speed, and came crushing over like a small mountain!

Wherever it passed, the ground cracked, gravel flew, and the strong wind rolled backward!

There was no retreat!

Cold light shot from Ye Qing's eyes; instead of retreating, he took a step forward!

The Spiritual Qi of the Qi Refining Seventh Layer erupted, the Five Elements rotated, and wind and thunder followed.

He suddenly held his left arm horizontally in front of his chest, and a pale golden Spirit Shield that fused the heaviness of the Earth element, the toughness of the Metal element, and the force-deflecting nature of the Void Realm instantly condensed; the runes on the shield surface circulated, shining brightly, a full circle larger than before, and several times thicker and more condensed!

At the same time, he gripped his right hand, and the Spiritual Qi in his body and his insights into "wind", "fire", and "space" surged crazily towards his palm.

A grain-sized, scorching white, dazzling point of light, with a trace of cyan wind vortex and silver-white spatial cracks circulating inside, suddenly lit up in his palm, emitting a heart-palpitating destructive fluctuation.

This was the killing move he had newly deduced, fusing the explosive nature of "fire", the swiftness of "wind", and the tearing nature of "space"; its power far exceeded the ordinary "Pseudo-Fireball Technique", and its consumption was also greater.

Facing the crushing Wind-Gale Rhinoceros, he actually chose to meet it head-on!

Boom—!!!

The Wind-Gale Rhinoceros's indestructible single horn slammed into the pale golden Spirit Shield!

An earth-shattering loud noise exploded at the entrance of the mountain ravine!

The Spirit Shield vibrated violently, its light flashing wildly, and cracks spread like spider webs, but it did not shatter, firmly blocking the terrifying impact and the violent gale!

Ye Qing's feet sank half a foot into the ground, his blood surged, and he felt a sweetness in his throat, but his eyes remained cold as iron.

Now is the time!

The moment the Wind-Gale Rhinoceros's body stalled due to the impact and rebound, he pushed his right palm forward violently!

"Go!"

That point of light, flowing with cyan light and silver marks in the scorching white, ignored the short distance of a few feet as if it had teleported, and in the Wind-Gale Rhinoceros's astonished gaze, it submerged into the relatively fragile area under its throat, which was exposed because it lowered its head to charge!

The next moment—

Chi la! Boom—!!!

First, there was a tooth-aching, slight sound as if space were being torn apart, followed by a deafening explosion!

A basin-sized, charred-edged, bone-deep terrifying wound suddenly exploded at the Wind-Gale Rhinoceros's throat; the flesh around the wound appeared strangely twisted and torn, as if it had been ravaged by invisible blades and storms at the same time!

Hot beast blood mixed with shattered bone fragments and internal organs sprayed out like a fountain!

"Moo—!!!"

The Wind-Gale Rhinoceros let out an earth-shattering, painful cry; its huge body stumbled backward, its blood-red eyes filled with unbelievable horror and intense pain.

It wanted to struggle, wanted to fight back, but its vital throat was severely damaged, its demonic power scattered, and its vitality flowed away rapidly with the wildly spraying blood.

Finally, this first-stage peak Yao Beast that dominated "Wind-Roar Ravine" collapsed like a golden mountain toppling over, causing the ground to shake; it twitched a few times and then fell silent.

The entrance to the mountain ravine returned to silence, with only the wind howling.

Ye Qing slowly lowered his arm, dissipated the Spirit Shield, his face slightly pale, nearly half of his Spiritual Qi consumed, and his Divine Sense felt a wave of fatigue.

But his eyes remained sharp as a knife.

With the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, combined with the newly comprehended Fusion killing move, he could kill a first-stage peak Yao Beast across levels!

He had a clearer understanding of his own strength.

Without delay, he quickly walked to the side of the Wind-Gale Rhinoceros corpse and communicated with the space with his mind.

The sixty-zhang space exerted suction, taking the huge beast corpse and the fist-sized, cyan-glowing first-stage peak Yao Beast core, which contained pure wind-attribute demonic power, into the "waste area".

Then, he carefully picked the clusters of wind spirit grass from the cliff crevice, moved them into a pre-reserved area in the space with slightly stronger wind, roots and soil included.

After doing all this, he quickly cleaned up the traces of the battle, took a Qi-Recovery Pill and a portion of "moonlight heart-clearing powder", adjusted his breath slightly, and quickly left "Wind-Roar Ravine".

It was not advisable to stay here for long; the battle just now had quite a commotion, and the Wind-Gale Rhinoceros corpse had disappeared. If other powerful Yao Beasts or Cultivators noticed, it might cause trouble.

He fled in the direction opposite to the temporary stone room.

Inside his body, the sixty-zhang space welcomed a sumptuous feast again, starting to digest, absorb, transform, and feed back slowly and efficiently.

On the road of steady development, crisis and harvest always go hand in hand.