Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Inner Elixir
Xiao Nanfeng fell from a great height, smashing through a dense canopy of branches. With a loud crash, he hit the ground heavily, a mouthful of blood spraying from his lips. He lay on the ground, in so much pain that he could barely move.
"It hurts so much... but... I won!" Xiao Nanfeng glanced over at the golden Crow Demon's corpse with a look of relief.
After lying there for a while, Xiao Nanfeng struggled to crawl towards the demon's body and, with great effort, pulled the dagger out of its skull.
"No wonder this dagger is worth three hundred taels of gold. It's truly sharp... cough, cough!" Xiao Nanfeng winced in pain, unable to hold back a series of violent coughs.
As the dagger moved, it slashed open the Crow Demon's abdomen. Blood gushed out in torrents, splattering across Xiao Nanfeng's face. But he paid it no mind as his hands quickly delved into the creature's entrails.
Soon, Xiao Nanfeng's eyes lit up as he pulled out a Purple Smoke Poison Pill, covered in blood and stomach acid.
"It's only about a sixth of its original size, but this Crow Demon's body is worth at least a thousand taels of gold! Not a bad haul!" Xiao Nanfeng carefully pocketed the remaining portion of the pill.
Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind. His hand dove back into the demon's guts, and after a short while, he retrieved a small golden orb.
The orb emitted faint flames, burning hot and slowly disintegrating at the edges.
"Is this the Inner Elixir of the golden Crow Demon? A fine treasure!" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes gleamed with excitement.
During their earlier battle, much of its energy had already been depleted, and the Inner Elixir was quickly losing its power, but even so, Xiao Nanfeng could still sense the immense, searing energy it contained.
"To waste such a thing would be shameful. I'll refine it now!" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes shone with anticipation.
Without hesitation, he swallowed the Inner Elixir. Despite his injuries, he was undeterred.
Once inside his stomach, the Elixir swiftly transformed into a vast surge of pure Yang energy, rushing through his limbs and bones. A wave of intense heat enveloped his body, and he coughed up blood from the shock.
"What overwhelming power!" Xiao Nanfeng's face twisted in pain.
He immediately sat cross-legged and began to channel the "Morning Sun Art" cultivation technique.
A soft golden light emanated from his body, and a thin layer of golden flame poured from his pores. The flames burned his skin, causing excruciating pain, but he gritted his teeth and persevered, slowly refining the Elixir.
An hour later, the golden light gradually faded, and with a loud burst of air, a powerful gust of wind swept through the surrounding grass.
Xiao Nanfeng opened his eyes slowly, muttering to himself, "The ninth level of the acquired realm? This Elixir's pure Yang energy is truly tyrannical!"
Although his cultivation had broken through, the internal wounds caused by the battle still needed time to heal. He glanced at the golden Crow Demon's corpse, casually covering it with some branches, and staggered toward a nearby small lake.
He jumped into the water, washing away the dried blood on his body.
"Waa! Waa!"
Above, the sound of Crow Demons shrieking echoed. Xiao Nanfeng looked up and saw several Crow Demons flying past. Perhaps because the sky was dim and his body was mostly submerged in the water, they failed to notice him.
"Are they searching for the golden Crow Demon? This is not a safe place to stay." Xiao Nanfeng's expression darkened.
"Grandpa, that person is strange. He's actually bathing in the lake! Doesn't he know it's still early spring and the water's cold? Doesn't he fear freezing to death?" Suddenly, a child's voice rang out.
Xiao Nanfeng turned to see an elderly man carrying a medicine basket, accompanied by a child around ten years old.
"Younger man, please forgive my grandson. He's too blunt and lacks manners. Allow me to apologize for him," the old man said, quickly pulling the child back.
"Children speak without thinking, no need for such formalities," Xiao Nanfeng said with a faint smile, as he climbed out of the lake, still coughing.
His bloodstains were now gone, though his clothes were still in tatters.
"Old man, where is this place?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
"This is just an ordinary mountain. It doesn't even have a name. Our village lies at the foot of this hill. What brings you here?" The old man smiled kindly.
"I was being chased by wild beasts, stumbled and fell, and got lost. It's getting dark soon. Could I stay in your village for the night? I'll pay for it," Xiao Nanfeng asked.
"Pay? Nonsense! You're a guest. You can stay with me!" The old man smiled warmly and gestured toward his home.
"Thank you, Old Man!" Xiao Nanfeng nodded respectfully.
"My name is Wang. You can call me Old Wang," the old man said.
...
Less than an hour later, Xiao Nanfeng found himself standing in front of a small village. Old Wang led him to a house where an elderly woman greeted them.
"Old man, where have you been? We have a distinguished guest!" she urged.
"Distinguished guest?" Old Wang was momentarily taken aback.
Seeing Xiao Nanfeng, the woman suddenly became cautious and leaned in to whisper something in the old man's ear.
"What? He's here? Haha! Let's have a good drink tonight!" Old Wang's face lit up with excitement as he turned back to Xiao Nanfeng. "Ah, I almost forgot! There's another distinguished guest. Young man, did you get hurt? Let me show you to your room, and I'll bring you some medicinal wine and food. You can rest here for the night."
"That will be fine, thank you!" Xiao Nanfeng nodded.
Xiao Nanfeng was shown to a room, where Old Wang's grandson brought him food, medicinal wine, and fresh clothes.
Xiao Nanfeng did not rest. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the bed, consolidating his cultivation. By morning, he had completely absorbed the golden Crow Demon's Inner Elixir, and his internal injuries had fully healed. His cultivation had greatly improved.
At dawn, Xiao Nanfeng exhaled a long breath and slowly stood up.
At that moment, Old Wang's grandson burst in, calling out, "Sir, Grandpa asked me to invite you to breakfast."
"I won't be having breakfast. This is a small token of my appreciation for your grandfather. I must be leaving now," Xiao Nanfeng said, handing the child a handful of scattered gold coins.
"Grandpa said not to accept your money," the child quickly pushed the gold away, shaking his head. "If I take your money, I won't be able to hold my head high in front of my brothers. I can't ruin my reputation!"
"Hahaha, you have a reputation?" Xiao Nanfeng chuckled, finding the child amusing.
"Of course! I'll be the future village head! I'll inherit Grandpa's legacy and become the head of Da Wang Village!" the child said proudly.
"Da Wang Village? What's that?" Xiao Nanfeng asked, his smile faltering.
"This is Da Wang Village!" the child explained.
"Is this really called Da Wang Village?"
Xiao Nanfeng suddenly remembered what the villager he saved yesterday had mentioned—the village of Da Wang, the place where the Raven Deity's Legion had attacked and slaughtered everyone, and where they were searching for someone named Zheng Qian. Zheng Qian had gone to Da Wang Village to visit friends.
"Of course! No mistake!" the child said, confused.
This was troubling.
How did he end up here? Was it just a coincidence? Did the golden Crow Demon carry him near Da Wang Village? No, Xiao Nanfeng didn't believe in coincidences. Perhaps the demon had come for Da Wang Village specifically.
"Quick, take me to your grandfather! Something's wrong in Da Wang Village!" Xiao Nanfeng urged.
"Huh?" The child looked confused.
At that moment, the sound of galloping hooves echoed from outside the window.
Xiao Nanfeng looked out and saw fifty soldiers in black armor riding toward the village entrance.
A few villagers tried to stop them, but the soldiers drew their long swords and swiftly decapitated several of them. Blood sprayed, and the villagers fell lifeless.
"People have been killed!"
"Screams echoed in the village as villagers ran out to witness a slaughter.
"Raven Deity's Legion is here. Anyone who gets in the way will be killed!" one of the black-armored soldiers shouted.
"Kill!" The soldiers responded in unison.
The presence of such killing intent filled the villagers with fear.
"Everyone, out to the square now! Quickly!" one of the soldiers barked.
The soldiers surrounded the village, blocking off all paths, and drew their swords, glaring at the villagers. Anyone who tried to escape would have their head cut off.
Xiao Nanfeng hid the small child under the bed and walked out even before the black-armored generals broke down the door, and was driven towards the square at the entrance of the village along with the terrified villagers.
The villagers were trembling with fear and did not dare to resist.
"Is this the Raven Deity's Legion that slaughtered and killed the previous village?Ten INNATE realms, forty ACCREDITED Realm peaks?" Xiao Nanfeng stood in the middle of the crowd with a grave expression, silently sizing up the group.
"Shogun, don't kill, I'm the village chief, we, Da Wang Zhuang, have always paid the head tax on time, never missed one ah, Shogun, please don't kill." older Wang begged for mercy to the black-armored Shogun in terror.
That Shogun coldly forced his eyes on older Wang: "Where is Zheng Qian?"
"Zheng Qian?I don't know any Zheng Qian?" older Wang shook his head in horror.
"I'll ask again, where is Zheng Qian? If you don't tell me, I will kill everyone here." That Shogun raised his sword and pointed it at a group of villagers.
"I, I don't know ah ...," older Wang lowered his head in fear.
"Don't know?" Shogun said in a cold voice, "In that case, you guys can go to hell!"
"Don't kill us, spare our lives!" Many of the villagers instantly fell to their knees and cried in fear.
However, the black-armored generals ignored the villagers' pleas for mercy and raised their swords to chop down.
"Stop! I'm here!" A broken shout came from beside OLDER WANG's house.
However, the entrance to a cellar not far away was opened, and a gray-robed middle-aged man walked out.
The man's face was serious and righteous, with a sense of fatigue in his majesty.
"You, how did you come out? Alas!" older Wang looked remorseful.
"older Wang, I came to visit you yesterday, I wanted to catch up with you, but I didn't want to get you involved, they came at me, I can't hide." Zheng Qian laughed bitterly.
"Alas!" older Wang let out a sigh.
"Mr. Zheng, you've made us look for you!" Shogun, the black armored man, said in a cold voice.
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