From a humble farmer to a great martial arts master

Chapter 140, page 139: One-third of the Qi Refining Realm

"How did your father collude with the demons back then? Tell me in detail."

Ren Qingshan roused the dazed courtesan—of course, she was no longer one.

What he had just witnessed filled Ren Qingshan with excitement, mixed with a sense of challenge.

Through me, you want to kill the crown prince?

Will that three-tailed fox approach me under the name of the Princess of the Iron Flag Prince's Mansion?

Which prince's side does the Iron Banner Prince's Mansion support?

The good news is: the opponent has revealed their hand.

The risk lies in the fact that even if the cards are out in the open, the great demon's methods are unpredictable and mysterious. If the prince really dies, we're doomed.

The prince is fine.

It absolutely cannot be because of me.

Bai Lu's drowsy sleepiness vanished instantly. In the dim light of the bed, her eyes were soft as she said, "I—I heard that I sent a fox spirit woman to be a concubine to a certain official of the Demon Suppression Bureau, which led to the leak of court secrets."

Ren Qingshan chuckled to himself.

It seems the demon race has been using this tactic for many years.

"Turn around, let me feel if you have a fox tail."

Bai Lu remained silent, turned over, and obediently raised her snow-white peach-like body.

I was slapped, neither too hard nor too softly.

She heard the man say, seemingly in a good mood: "Go to sleep, it's none of your business."

Nuonuo responded.

But she wasn't sleepy at all.

"Previously, there were fox spirits, snake spirits, mountain demons, and the like who transformed into human form and infiltrated the brothel, hoping to gather all sorts of information and intelligence in this way. The matrons in the brothel specifically consulted the Demon Suppression Division on how to identify them in the simplest way."

She wanted to curry favor, so she said in a low voice.

Seeing that this topic had indeed piqued Ren Qingshan's interest, he continued, "First, when walking under the moon, the shadow is so faint it's like a water stain. If many people walk together, only the demons will be a little short—they mainly rely on moonlight for cultivation and will instinctively absorb some of it."

Ren Qingshan's lips curled into a smile: "Damn it?"

Bai Lu was slightly taken aback. After pondering for a few moments, she understood the meaning and couldn't help but smile.

The old man is truly witty and humorous.

She relaxed: "Secondly, every fifteenth of the lunar month, on the night of the full moon, clues will appear. The situation will vary depending on the demon, but it will definitely happen."

Ren Qingshan seemed to be deep in thought.

Unlike the Central Plains, the Northern Border once bordered the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons, and they knew these intricacies in more detail.

However, it is unclear whether these two methods are only applicable to minor demons, or to both major and minor demons.

"What is the approximate strength of a demon capable of transforming into human form?"

Bai Lu thought about it.

"Perhaps due to their profound skill, after achieving the Innate Realm, they gained the ability to transform into human form."

"It's also possible that they took the Transformation Pill, which was the national treasure of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom. The main ingredient is the Transformation Grass, a wood-type spiritual plant that grows in the extremely cold northern region. It is a medicinal material that is strictly controlled by the imperial court. Anyone who hoards or sells it will be arrested."

He was having a late-night chat with Bailu in their boudoir.

In my mind, on the television, the eunuch and the three demons were still talking.

The eunuch provided detailed information about the several innate experts around the crown prince—he knew them like the back of his hand.

After saying that, he asked about something else.

"Iron Banner Prefecture, a few days ago a Divine Firmament martial artist appeared and killed two Innate Realm experts from Snow Mountain in succession. Do you have any information about this person?"

Ren Qingshan chuckled inwardly.

Excuse me, this is also Lao Tzu.

Tiger Demon: "I've heard about it, but this person is very slippery. He took four innate spiritual treasures and left that very night. Several innate beings who wanted to intercept and kill him failed to find him."

The dragon demon asked, "What does the Third Prince want with him?"

Upon hearing this, Ren Qingshan perked up and keenly grasped the key words.

Third Prince!

It was him!

The current emperor has many sons. The crown prince is Zhou Shiqian. The second son died young. The third son is Zhou Shi'an, born to the empress. He and the crown prince are brothers from the same father and mother.

The Empress's lineage only had these two sons.

Tsk, brothers are ruthless.

However, such tragic human relationships were truly unavoidable in the royal family.

From the younger brother's perspective: The older brother was only born two years earlier, yet he had to live a life weighed down by him. When their father was alive, he was the crown prince; when their father died, he was the emperor. His life and fortune depended entirely on the older brother's conscience.

Ren Qingshan felt that if it were him, he would have to rebel as well.

There was no other way to go but to vie for the throne.

Eunuch: "This is not your concern. Send your men to investigate this matter and make sure you find out the truth as soon as possible."

The dragon demon turned its head away, seemingly somewhat unconvinced, but did not refute it.

A flash of anger crossed the eunuch's eyes, but he suppressed it and softened his tone: "As long as you do your job diligently, the master's rewards will definitely be plentiful. The demon king's lineage in Lianzhou produced five portions of demon king elixir this year—the master has more than a dozen powerful demons under his command. Who gets it? Who doesn't? Isn't it all distributed according to merit? If you don't do your job well, it will be difficult for me too."

Upon hearing this, the three demons were extremely intrigued and began asking all sorts of questions about the "Demon Emperor's Elixir."

Ren Qingshan learned more information.

Lianzhou is located in the sea east of the northern border. In terms of topography, it is similar to Goryeo and Fusang in the previous world—except that they do not share a border.

Like the former Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons, its rule was too costly and it did not belong to the subjects of the Great Zhou.

There are remnants of the Demon Emperor's lineage there.

Is he still being subtly controlled by the Third Prince?

The "Demon Emperor's Elixir" produced can greatly enhance the strength of demons.

The third son is quite capable. I wonder if he secretly planned it or if the emperor tacitly approved it?

This struggle for the throne encompasses almost all the forces in the land, leaving no place unscathed.

The three demons asked a series of questions.

The eunuch used this message to pique their interest, then used a combination of threats and sweeteners to get them to leave satisfied, thus ending the conversation completely.

This time.

-

When leaving the Yuntai Sacred Realm, the Three-Tailed Fox carried the Overlord Spear with her.

Her identity is: disciple of the Yuntai Sect Leader, and princess of the Iron Flag Prince's Mansion.

To be fair...

With such a high and mighty status, coupled with a beautiful woman, one could easily fall victim to her scheme if they didn't know her background beforehand.

Now that he knew, Ren Qingshan pondered how to deal with it.

There are only two options.

First, hide, go back to Zhongzhou, go back to Fengcheng, and leave this vortex.

Second, if we can capture or kill this fox demon, it will be a great achievement. Especially if we capture it—it would be equivalent to secretly controlling a martial arts mecca and firmly establishing our own pawn in the Northern Territory.

However, is there any way to make a transformed demon willingly kneel and lick its boots?

There are no martial arts techniques involved, but the ability to control other people's minds.

The three-tailed fox controlled the people in the Cloud Platform Sacred Realm using poison.

The Third Prince controlled these powerful demons by using his princely status and the lure of the Demon Emperor's Elixir, and perhaps there was also a pledge of allegiance beforehand.

Ok?

Or should I impersonate the Third Prince?

A sudden, exciting thought quietly surfaced in Ren Qingshan's mind.

Isn't this a bit too flashy?

However, since they have access to information, this unconventional approach may not be entirely unfeasible.

Give it a try!

Control it if you can!

If you can't control it, kill it!

Over the next three days, Ren Qingshan spent the remaining three portions of the Five Elements spiritual items in Yanshan Prefecture.

Nine Refinements of the Primordial Formation!

Two hundred thousand earth forces were used, and seventeen thousand were consumed.

Each additional refinement of one's innate constitution consumes more qi and blood.

-

The only thing that made him slightly regretful was that a second Supreme Bone did not form.

There were still nearly 30,000 units of earth energy remaining, not enough to refine the Five Elements spiritual objects again, so Ren Qingshan used them to improve his comprehension.

Having a keen eye for detail is already at the level of a master.

But there is still room for improvement.

Ren Qingshan was also curious about what level it would be elevated to.

One force after another was added until "Insightful Eyes" began to change, and the four-character description of the next level suddenly appeared before his eyes.

—Exquisite skill.

With this newfound understanding, Ren Qingshan felt his mind was as clear as a supercomputer, and all the moves he had learned and the countless insights he had gained since he began practicing martial arts came flooding back to him.

This is already at the level of "winning without using any moves".

Various techniques can be used at will, and the key to their application lies in one's mind.

However, there is still room for improvement in comprehension.

Having only consumed about four thousand units of earth energy, Ren Qingshan became curious and continued to add more.

Book from the ground, add some points!

With the addition of nearly eight thousand more layers of earth energy, the description of the next level of enlightenment emerged.

- Found a sect.

This is enough to create a new technique.

But can it be improved?

"The path of martial arts is boundless?"

Ren Qingshan's curiosity grew even stronger. He murmured something and chose to add more points.

What else could it be besides founding a sect or establishing a school of thought?

This time.

He consumed over 21,000 units of earth energy to see the next level of his comprehension.

——The true meaning of martial arts.

The true meaning of martial arts!

This—this is the Qi Refining Realm!

Condensing the true essence of martial arts is one of the prerequisites for entering the Qi Refining Realm.

How to condense the true essence of martial arts has always been a closely guarded secret. Even the imperial court would not teach it; it was only passed down orally and through personal instruction among top experts, master and disciple, father and son.

Ren Qingshan never expected that the Earth Book, through the transformation of comprehension by the earth's power, could directly condense the true meaning of martial arts!

A cry of "Holy crap!" is dedicated to the Earth Book.

They forced him to comply.

Even though he had already grasped the true essence of martial arts, Ren Qingshan was astonished to discover that his comprehension could still be further improved in the Earth Book.

Beyond the true essence of martial arts, what else is there?

However, at this point, there was not enough soil strength.

The changes that arose in his mind at this moment also made Ren Qingshan forget about the Earth Book and he could only quickly check it first.

He saw a glimmer of light in his mind.

Like white jade, it is pure and flawless, yet it exudes incomparably powerful energy.

The true essence of martial arts is to condense the formless and invisible thoughts into a single, pure, and tangible intention—which is precisely this light before our eyes.

Refining essence into qi, and cultivating qi into spirit.

This little bit of light is "God"!

However, by transforming even this trace, all the body's vital energy and true qi had been completely consumed.

Ren Qingshan was both surprised and delighted.

Since embarking on the path of martial arts, I have transformed over 400,000 strands of earth energy. Although there have been some losses, the total supply is enormous, yet it has only been enough to achieve a trace of the "true meaning of martial arts".

Of course, this leads to a qualitative change in the level of life.

"Heh, my current level is one-third of the Qi Refining Realm."

Ren Qingshan thought to himself, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

That's pretty impressive.

When I chatted with my master before, he mentioned the three thresholds of the Qi Refining Realm:

First, the innate refinement, a physical body forged through repeated tempering with the five elements' spiritual objects.

Second, it embodies the true essence of martial arts.

Third, capture the true Qi of heaven and earth, and refine Qi into Gang.

The first two hurdles are achieved through one's own efforts, while the third hurdle is something that can only be overcome by chance.

Heaven and earth are truly extremely dangerous things.

If one's physical strength is insufficient and one lacks true martial arts intent, it is almost impossible to refine it, and one will likely be killed by it.

Even if a weakling were to encounter such an opportunity, they would be completely unable to handle it.

Only when one achieves self-perfection, with both physical body and true intention reaching their peak, is it possible to conquer the true nature of heaven and earth and transform it for one's own use.

But it also depends on luck and chance to encounter it first.

"Master once said that the highest level of Xiantian in the imperial court has reached the Twenty-One Refinement stage, but they have not yet condensed the true meaning of martial arts, let alone captured the true Qi of heaven and earth."

"I'm only at the ninth level of the Innate Realm, yet I've already refined the true meaning of martial arts—"

They are indeed formidable, their combat power has increased immeasurably.

But it does consume a lot of energy.

Ren Qingshan felt his stomach rumbling like thunder; he was so hungry he was almost going crazy.

I felt more comfortable after converting all the remaining earth energy into qi and blood.

Even so, it's still not enough.

He pushed open the door and rushed straight to the kitchen of Yan Hui Ge.

Eat! Eat!

The last time I felt this hungry was in a restaurant in the capital, right after I had refined the Five Elements spiritual objects.