Becoming a Saint Starting with the Chasing Wind Leg Technique

Chapter 175 The Great War Is About to Begin

Bibo Peak, Tingtao Courtyard.

Song Jing was asking his sixth senior brother, Chen Mo, about a key point in the "Mysterious Origin Heavy Water True Skill" concerning the transformation of true qi into "penetration" and "accumulation". Although Chen Mo was usually taciturn and had a gentle temperament, he had a profound understanding of the skill and could always point out the key in a few words, which greatly benefited Song Jing.

As they were talking, Chen Mo seemed to remember something, put down his teacup, and said in a calm tone, "By the way, things haven't been peaceful outside lately. I heard that Boyang City, which is adjacent to Tianshui City, has been in great turmoil. Blood Lotus Cult heretics have appeared, bewitching people and stirring up riots. It's said that—the entire county was massacred, rivers of blood flowed, and it became a living hell."

Song Jing's heart tightened suddenly, and he abruptly looked up: "Boyang City? That's extremely close to Tianshui City! How is Tianshui City? Has it been affected?"

Chen Mo glanced at him, then slowly poured himself another cup of tea before saying, "Don't worry. Although the Blood Lotus Sect is ruthless, it is ultimately a bunch of shady rats who can't stand the light of day and won't amount to anything."

Tianshui City is an important town under the jurisdiction of the prefectural city. It is guarded by my Pingtianmen branch and has elite troops from the Commandant's Office.

The branch has urgently dispatched several elders at the Refining Realm to lead a large number of elite disciples to clear out and deploy defenses.

The Commandant's Office also strengthened its defenses.

Tianshui City should be safe for the time being.

However, the surrounding villages and towns are probably in a different situation.

Upon hearing that Captain Chen Yanzhou and his branch had taken countermeasures and dispatched experts at the Refining Realm, Song Jing breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Chen Yanzhou had been stationed in Tianshui for many years, possessing a deep-rooted foundation, and should have a method to deal with such emergencies. However, the news of the Blood Lotus Sect's massacre of the city still cast a shadow over his heart.

The world is becoming increasingly turbulent.

"Thank you for informing me, Senior Brother Chen," Song Jing said in a deep voice.

Chen Mo nodded slightly, said no more, and continued to explain the cultivation technique.

However, Song Jing was unaware that a more direct and deadly plot against him was quietly brewing.

Gengjin Peak, inside Zhou Ming's luxurious courtyard.

Zhou Ming sat in the main seat with a gloomy expression, while Chang Yuan and Hong Lie stood below him.

At this moment, Chang Yuan and Hong Lie's auras are much stronger than they were a month ago!

Chang Yuan, who had originally reached the peak of the Bone Forging Realm, has now broken through and entered the early stage of the Digestion Refining Realm. His blood and qi are surging, and his physique is even more robust.

Hong Lie had also reached the peak of the Bone Forging Realm, his aura was cold and deep, and his eyes were even sharper.

"Senior Brother Zhou, the Bone Strengthening Pill and Crimson Essence Pill you bestowed upon us are truly miraculous! We two were fortunate enough to break through and our strength has greatly increased! We will definitely do our best to fulfill your duties this time!" Chang Yuan said in a deep voice, his face filled with flattery and excitement. Breaking through to the Refining Realm meant that his status and position would be completely different, so he was naturally extremely grateful to Zhou Ming.

Hong Lie bowed and said, "Senior Brother Zhou's generous gift is something I will never forget. That brat Song Jing will be made to suffer this time!"

Zhou Ming looked at the two of them, a hint of heartache and coldness flashing in his eyes.

To ensure everything went smoothly, he took out a considerable amount of precious pills from his family's and his own share, significantly boosting the strength of his two fairly capable lackeys.

In particular, Chang Yuan's breakthrough to the Refining Realm came at a considerable cost.

"These pills aren't given away for free," Zhou Ming said coldly. "What I want is Song Jing's life, or at least to completely cripple him, rendering him unable to cultivate again and forcing him to leave Pingtian Sect! This matter must succeed; failure is not an option!"

"Don't worry, senior brother!" Chang Yuan patted his chest and assured him, "We have found out that Song Jing reported to the sect because of the unrest near Tianshui City, saying that he wanted to return to Tianshui City to visit his old friends. In reality, Song Jing was worried about the situation in Tianshui City and wanted to go back to see it, and also to inquire about the Blood Lotus Sect along the way. This matter was discovered by the spies planted by Zhou Ming."

Returning to Tianshui from the prefectural city, one must pass through the official road near Boyang City. That area is currently in chaos due to banditry caused by the Blood Lotus Sect and rebel forces. It's the perfect location to launch an attack!

Hong Lie added menacingly, "We've laid an ambush on their inevitable route beforehand, waiting for them to tire themselves out. He's only at the Bone Forging Realm; even if he has some skills, he has no chance of surviving a combined attack from the two of us!"

Afterwards, the blame could be easily shifted to remnants of the Blood Lotus Cult or roaming rebel bandits; with no one to testify, the matter would be resolved once and for all!

A cold glint flashed in Zhou Ming's eyes: "Fine! This matter will be handled by the two of you. Remember, do it cleanly and efficiently. If word gets out, or if he escapes—you know the consequences."

"Yes!" Chang Yuan and Hong Lie responded in unison, a ruthless glint in their eyes.

Having received benefits from Zhou Ming and emboldened by their greatly improved strength, the two were brimming with confidence, as if they could already envision Song Jing's tragic death and the even greater rewards they would receive.

Just as Zhou Ming and the others were secretly plotting, a new sect decree was issued at the outer sect of Pingtianmen, instantly attracting the attention of all the disciples.

"Outer disciples, listen to my command: Recently, the northwestern barbarians have been increasingly aggressive in their attacks on the border. Wu Tianxiong, the Marquis of Zhenyuan in Hedong, has been wielding considerable military power and has made numerous unusual moves. The situation on the border and inland is becoming increasingly tense, and war is imminent."

In order to cope with the changing situation and hone the disciples' combat skills, the sect has decided to temporarily open the sect's secret treasure, the Five Elements Tower!

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"The Five Elements Tower is a replica built by the ancestors of our Pingtian Sect, imitating the supreme treasure of the Five Elements Sect. Although it is a replica, it is infinitely powerful, containing the changes of the five elements and forming its own space."

Unlike the Kung Fu Pavilion, which focuses on the comprehension of martial arts techniques, this tower is designed specifically to test a martial artist's comprehensive combat ability, adaptability, willpower, and endurance!

The tower has several levels, each with a significantly increased difficulty. Challengers must use their current strength to defeat various enemies that materialize within the tower, each possessing perfect combat power and battle intelligence corresponding to its level, or to pass the harsh environmental tests.

"Challenge Requirements: Cultivation level must reach the late stage of Bone Forging Realm, or be a Xuan-rank disciple."

"Challenge Rewards: Each level cleared will grant generous rewards, including but not limited to a large number of contribution points, core cultivation pills for each meridian such as the Water Meridian's Profound Origin Pill, the Metal Meridian's Gengjin Pill, and the Fire Meridian's Li Huo Pill, rare materials, and even the opportunity to observe the afterimages of high-level martial arts techniques! The higher you climb, the greater the rewards!"

"Special Note: The first level of the Five Elements Tower is extremely difficult. Generally, only those with early-stage Refining Realm combat strength have a good chance of passing it. Disciples at the Bone Forging Realm with exceptional talent and outstanding combat power may also attempt it, but the risk is extremely high. proceed with caution!"

The order caused an uproar outside the gates.

"The Five Elements Tower of Heaven! It's finally open again! I heard it last opened a hundred years ago, during a time of great chaos!"

"The reward is amazing! A Profound Origin Pill! That's a top-grade auxiliary pill for cultivating the 'Profound Origin Heavy Water True Technique.' Normally, it's hard to even exchange contribution points for one!"

"The requirements are high too. Late stage of Bone Forging or Profound Rank, and the first level requires refined combat power? How many people can pass that?"

"Practical training! This is the sect getting serious now. It seems the situation is really dire."

"I heard that the top-tier senior brothers and sisters who have reached the Bone Forging Perfection stage in each branch are already itching to get started!"

On Bibo Peak, Song Jing also learned the news and was filled with excitement.

"The Five Elements Tower of Heaven—Practical Training—Mysterious Origin Pill!" His eyes gleamed. He was worried that his progress in cultivating the "Mysterious Origin Heavy Water True Technique" was slow, far less rapid than when he cultivated ordinary and high-quality techniques. Rare techniques required far too much in terms of resources and comprehension.

With sufficient "Mysterious Essence Pills" to assist, the cultivation speed will be greatly accelerated!

"Moreover, this tower emphasizes practical combat, which suits my needs perfectly!" Song Jing clenched his fist. He had fought his way here through countless battles, and what he feared least was real combat.

The Martial Arts Pavilion hones skills, while the Five Elements Tower tests true life-or-death combat abilities!

This is crucial for him to adapt to a potentially more brutal environment in the future.

"However, the first level requires me to refine my combat power—" Song Jing calmly assessed himself. His current cultivation level was close to the mid-stage of Bone Forging, and he possessed two Returning to Truth martial arts and a near-rare divine weapon. His true combat power far exceeded that of his peers, and he was confident that he could kill late-stage Bone Forging cultivators as easily as killing chickens, and could contend with ordinary Bone Forging cultivators at their peak.

However, the Refining Realm is a major leap forward. True Qi and Blood Qi merge, and the vitality, recovery ability, and control over power are all incomparable.

"With my current strength, I might be able to hold my own against those who have just broken through and whose foundations are unstable in the early stages of the Refining Realm, like Chang Yuan and Hong Lie. But I'm not confident of winning, let alone passing the first level, which requires combat strength in the early stages of the Refining Realm to pass with certainty." Song Jing was very clear-headed. The experiences of his several "fellow villagers" also confirmed this.

Qin Muyun, Tie Zhan, Su Yuwei, and Wen Yuan, these four geniuses, were already at the late or even perfect stage of the Bone Forging Realm and had no shortage of background resources. Naturally, they went to try it out as soon as the Five Elements Tower of Heaven opened.

As a result, the four of them took turns trying, but they were all defeated on the first level. They tried more than a hundred times, but none of them could pass!

The guardians of the first level seemed to target each person's weaknesses, torturing them to the point of ecstasy.

"That's insane! That's not something you'd expect for someone at the Bone Forging Realm, is it?" Su Yuwei retreated from the tower, her face pale, still shaken.

"The power of the Refined Realm is truly legendary. The golden-armored puppet I faced in the tower was comparable to the early stage of the Refined Realm in terms of strength, speed, and defense, and it was even more intelligent in combat. It almost broke through my thick earth defense." Tie Zhan shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"It requires the interaction of the five elements, and adaptability to change. Simply defending or attacking is not enough. Although my Azure Wood True Qi has strong endurance, its attack is not enough to break through my defenses," Qin Muyun pondered.

"The interference effect of the formation is also limited. That godforsaken place seems to be able to weaken external assistance." Wen Yuan pushed up his nose.

The four of them gathered together, filled with emotion.

"I'm afraid only those in the Refining Realm, or monsters like Junior Brother Song, could possibly pass this first test in the Bone Forging Realm?" Qin Muyun sighed.

"Junior Brother Song—perhaps he really can. But his cultivation level is still low, and I heard he's going back to Tianshui City. Once he returns and his strength improves further, perhaps there's real hope," Tie Zhan said.

"Well, there's no rush. This tower should be open for some time. Let's digest what we've learned from this challenge first. Even though we didn't pass, it has still been quite helpful in improving our combat skills," Su Yuwei said.

Song Jing learned of the four people's miserable condition from Chen Mo and other sources, which further confirmed the difficulty of the first level.

"It seems that I need to further improve my strength if I want to pass this tower. At the very least, I need to cultivate the first level of the 'Mysterious Origin Heavy Water True Technique' to a minor success, stabilize my cultivation at the mid-stage of Bone Forging, and become more proficient in using the Five Elements Evolutionary Spear before I can have a chance." Song Jing planned in his mind.

Right now, he is still concerned about the safety of Tianshui City, and has decided to return to Tianshui City first.

On the one hand, he visited old friends such as Nie Feng and Bai Yunfei to learn about the specific situation of the Blood Lotus Sect's chaos. On the other hand, he also had the intention of further honing his newly acquired divine spear and consolidating his cultivation through actual combat on the road.

"As for the Five Elements Tower of Heaven, and the possible ambush—" Song Jing's eyes turned slightly cold, his fingers unconsciously brushing against the gun holster on his back.

"Wait until I get back, then we'll take care of it all at once."

He reported his return home to the sect, received the extra resources for this month for Xuan-rank disciples, including a precious Concentration Pill, disposed of some unused miscellaneous items, and exchanged them for some easy-to-carry pills, some of which were specially prepared for his family and fellow villagers.

With everything prepared, on a dawning morning, Song Jing shouldered the Five Elements Dao Spear, quietly left the outer gate of Pingtian Gate, and embarked on the official road back to Tianshui City.

Unbeknownst to him, on the chaotic official road near Boyang City ahead, two "acquaintances" whose strength had greatly increased were laying a deadly trap, their chilling killing intent lurking in their wake, awaiting his arrival.