Longevity Begins with the Seven Injuries Fist-Chapter 236 - 153: Fist Gang Shatters Corpse Gu! Corpse Refinement Pool! (Part 2)
Heading to Miaojiang, I’m unfamiliar with the road, so I can capture this Gu Master to be our guide.
Considering this, Su Que had the middle-aged man stand up and pick up the Dharma Conch to keep it safe.
He noticed that although this middle-aged man could manipulate corpses with the combat power of a Five Blood Martial Artist, his Martial Arts Realm was only Fourth Blood, quite weak.
Therefore, he didn’t restrict this man’s movements and let him stay by his side.
Under his watchful eye, the middle-aged man couldn’t pull any tricks.
Su Que curled his fingers into claws and activated the Nine Yin Corpse Claw technique.
Instantly, those corpses around him exuded a gloomy white chill.
Eventually, it seemed to form into two streams, flowing towards his hands.
Soon, these corpses were completely dried of their blood and flesh, collapsing limply onto the ground.
Because these corpses were common civilians in life, their vitality was not strong.
Hence, there wasn’t much Death Qi for Su Que to absorb from the corpses.
After absorbing the Death Qi from these Corpse Gu, suddenly he heard the sound of horse hooves approaching.
In a short while, the sound of hooves drew near.
Su Que looked into the distance and saw Li Xuanji on horseback, followed closely behind by Fan Gushan, also riding.
"Sir?"
Upon seeing Su Que, Li Xuanji immediately dismounted and approached Su Que, greeting him with a clasped fist salute.
Su Que nodded in response.
"Sir, I had already sent someone back to signal you, but I didn’t expect to see you here," Li Xuanji said.
"What happened here?" Su Que asked.
Li Xuanji first glanced at the Miaojiang middle-aged man next to Su Que, showing a look of inquiry.
His enemies were several major forces from Miaojiang, and he didn’t understand why a Miaojiang man was with Su Que, nor did he know Su Que’s stance on Miaojiang.
Su Que saw through Li Xuanji’s concern at a glance: "I have some business to attend to in Miaojiang and need a guide."
Upon hearing this, Li Xuanji understood, looking at the wounds on the middle-aged man’s body, he imagined the scene of Su Que attacking the middle-aged man.
Afterward, he told Su Que everything he knew about the unrest in Miaojiang.
After speaking, he added, "The leaders of the Cave of Myriad Poisons, Five Immortals Sect, and Twelve Villages in Miaojiang have high Martial Arts Realms. I sincerely request that you assist me."
Su Que asked, "What are their Martial Arts Realms?"
Li Xuanji replied, "I’ve heard that the master of the Cave of Myriad Poisons, Liao Tianshan, has reached the Gang Condensing Realm and can condense Gang Qi up to five zhang."
"The Sect Leader of the Five Immortals Sect, He Lingyu, has also reached the Gang Condensing Realm and can condense Gang Qi up to three zhang."
"The chiefs of the Twelve Villages all have the strength of the Meridian Opening Realm."
Su Que, hearing this, pondered in his mind.
Currently, he could condense Gang Qi up to two zhang and six feet.
Although the distance of his Gang Qi release wasn’t as far as Liao Tianshan and He Lingyu’s,
the distance of the Gang Qi release didn’t represent the full strength of a martial artist.
After all, Gang Qi needs to be combined with Martial Arts Techniques to demonstrate greater power.
Simply using Gang Qi against an enemy would result in much less power.
His Martial Arts Mastery was exceptional, and with the combination of Gang Qi, he should be able to contend with Liao Tianshan and He Lingyu.
Since his fight with the noble family scion, Lin Yu, he hadn’t encountered opponents with whom he could truly battle.
Moreover, he had been training alone for a long time, unable to find a sparring partner.
Now, with two people whose Martial Arts Realm slightly surpassed his own, it was a perfect opportunity to hone his martial arts skills.
Additionally, the unrest in Miaojiang could have a significant impact on the Southern Domain, causing warfare to spread throughout the region.
It could greatly disrupt his peaceful cultivation life.
Therefore, he wished to quell the Miaojiang turmoil.
Moreover, he had a cooperative relationship with the Heaven-Breaking Army.
He helped the Heaven-Breaking Army eliminate some martial arts experts, while the army assisted him in elixir refining, gathering herbs, and collecting information.
With these considerations, Su Que nodded in agreement to Li Xuanji.
Li Xuanji was overjoyed to see Su Que agree, expressing his gratitude repeatedly.
Fan Gushan, sitting on horseback, noticed how Su Que had agreed to this matter after only a moment of thought, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
He remembered that when he first met Su Que, his Martial Arts Cultivation was only at the Meridian Opening Realm.
And now, facing opponents at the Gang Condensing Realm, he showed no sign of panic.
Even without sensing carefully, it was clear that Su Que was likely already at the Gang Condensing Realm.
And in just a few months, he had ascended from the Meridian Opening Realm to the Gang Condensing Realm.
His talent was astonishing, even comparable to Li Xuanji.
Having lived for over nine hundred years, he had only encountered a few such prodigies, apart from the noble family scions of the Liang Kingdom who had been consuming elixirs since birth.
’This person is extraordinary...’
Fan Gushan thought to himself, his eyes under the mask subtly fixed on Su Que.
He was extremely curious to know who this person was behind the mask?
What was his age, where was he born, and where did he begin learning martial arts...
He was increasingly intrigued by this individual’s identity.
After thanking Su Que, Li Xuanji turned to the Miaojiang Gu Master beside Su Que and asked,
"Where did you lead the townsfolk and soldiers in this city?"
The Miaojiang Gu Master immediately pointed with a trembling hand towards a street alley: "I led them to a large pool in the mansion of a landlord in the city."
Su Que was unfamiliar with the methods of Miaojiang’s Corpse Refining Gu.
He initially thought the Miaojiang Gu Master had already controlled all the townsfolk and soldiers in the city.
Upon hearing Li Xuanji’s words, he guessed that the Miaojiang Gu Master had to process the bodies before controlling them.
After listening to the Miaojiang Gu Master’s words, Li Xuanji led his troops to the place the Miaojiang Gu Master indicated.
Su Que followed them.
Before long, they entered a lavishly decorated mansion.
After passing through a corridor, they arrived at a large pool within the mansion.
However, this pool’s water was purple now, with bubbles occasionally rising from below.
Dozens of townsfolk in regular clothes, along with soldiers in armor, were scattered across the pool, piled up messily like a small hill.
And the people in the pile had wide eyes staring blankly ahead, making the scene truly shocking.
Even the soldiers of the Heaven-Breaking Army, who had seen many bloody massacres, were stunned by the sight.
The pool emitted a pungent stench.
The townsfolk’s clothes and soldiers’ armor had been corroded by the pool water.
Su Que, upon smelling it, immediately identified several poisons contained within the pool water.
Moreover, according to the Poison Scripture’s principles of mutual exclusivity and reinforcement of toxins, he could absorb and mix the pool’s liquid, thus converting it into Myriad Poison True Qi.
Upon seeing the corpses, Li Xuanji was about to instruct his soldiers, "You all take out..."
"Lord, please step aside, this old man has something to discuss with you."
Li Xuanji had planned to instruct the soldiers to retrieve the bodies for burial.
But suddenly, Fan Gushan interrupted Li Xuanji’s words.
Fan Gushan could have used True Qi transmission to talk to Li Xuanji.
However, seeing Su Que was nearby, and Su Que’s Martial Arts Realm had reached a considerable level,
if Su Que were still in the Meridian Opening Realm, he could use a small amount of True Qi to transmit messages without worrying that Su Que could hear them.
And this small amount of True Qi was almost negligible to him, thus wouldn’t lead him into madness.
But now, Su Que was already in the Gang Condensing Realm. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
To transmit messages without being heard by Su Que, he’d need to use more True Qi, potentially causing the Black Tortoise Blood within him to boil, leading to madness.
Upon hearing Fan Gushan, Li Xuanji walked with Fan Gushan to a distance.
After walking quite far, Fan Gushan confirmed that neither Su Que nor the soldiers could hear them and said,
"Lord, actually I’ve learned some methods of refining and controlling Corpse Gu in Miaojiang."
"I can teach these methods to trusted people in the army, allowing them to control Corpse Gu."
"You shouldn’t let the soldiers bury these corpses as they are already dead, burial would make little difference."
"Instead, let them soak here and refine them into Corpse Gu, so they can serve Jiannan Prefecture."
Having listened, Li Xuanji thought for a while, then said, "But doing so might not be right. After all, respect for the dead is important, and if other soldiers or civilians see us doing this, it could damage the reputation of the Heaven-Breaking Army."
Fan Gushan replied, "Once refined into Corpse Gu, they can be covered with clothes, so no one knows they were once civilians or soldiers."
Li Xuanji, after considering this, realized Fan Gushan was correct.
—These individuals were already dead and wouldn’t change significantly, so why not refine them into Corpse Gu for combat?
Thus, he nodded and accepted Fan Gushan’s suggestion.
