Raise a sword!

The complexity of the "Dragon and Tiger Kung Fu" opened Jiang Peng's eyes to a whole new level.

This is neither a qi-refining spell nor a body-refining technique, but rather more like a general outline, guiding cultivators in a certain direction.

As for where the so-called "certain direction" specifically points, the part in Jiang Peng's hand did not provide an answer.

It's unclear whether the later parts were deliberately concealed, or whether the person behind Lan Yingying actually received that much.

After several days of careful study, Jiang Peng divided "Dragon Tiger Kung Fu" into two parts.

The first step is body tempering.

The Dragon Tiger Skill also has fixed postures similar to the White Ape Strength. This is the standard way to temper the body during the Qi Refining stage, but it is more complicated. In addition, you must take the Dragon Tiger Pill during practice to achieve the best effect.

This is what the exercise describes as the convergence of the dragon and tiger yang energies, creating endless vitality.

Jiang Peng called this body-refining method "Dragon Tiger Strength".

In addition, Jiang Peng also compiled a rare divine sense technique called "Dragon's Roar and Tiger's Howl".

This divine sense technique also requires the use of the Dragon-Tiger Pill to condense and enhance one's divine sense to a certain degree before it can be used.

At the same time, one also needs to have mastered the Dragon-Tiger Strength body training as a foundation.

In conclusion, the Dragon Tiger Skill is more profound than Jiang Peng imagined. Even after being broken down, the connections between the parts can be found. One must cultivate both the body and the spirit simultaneously in order to achieve results.

"Although cultivation is fraught with difficulties, both body refinement and spirit refinement are top-tier methods in the Qi Refining stage, which saves a lot of time in finding suitable spells."

Thus, Jiang Peng added body and spirit training to her daily routine, and completely abandoned the "White Ape Strength" that she had always insisted on.

After years of practicing the "White Ape Strength" day in and day out, this body-refining technique with limited potential has become less and less beneficial to Jiang Peng.

Now is the time for a replacement.

...

Just as Jiang Peng moved to a new home and began to cultivate steadily, the long-peaceful Cangshan market was not so peaceful recently.

It's the height of summer.

A severe drought struck the mortal realm, causing widespread unrest and turmoil within the borders of the Cang Kingdom.

Although the Cangshan Sect has sent its disciples to perform the magic of summoning clouds and rain, it is ultimately a drop in the ocean.

The ability to summon clouds and rain relies on the rainwater in the world, but if there is no rain in the world, then the effectiveness of the spell will naturally be greatly reduced.

The severe drought has triggered famine and chaos within the Cang Kingdom.

"The Cang Kingdom is an important source of disciples for the Cangshan Sect. If the mortal world is in chaos, it will affect the foundation of the sect."

In the courtyard, beside the dining table.

Lan Yingying held chopsticks in one hand and half a clove of garlic in the other, slurping down the noodles with soybean paste in front of her while casually mentioning recent news.

At this point, about half a year had passed since Jiang Peng began practicing the "Dragon and Tiger Skill".

After several months of secluded cultivation, Jiang Peng didn't know much about the outside world.

The mutual aid society's gatherings have been suspended for two months for some unknown reason.

"Does the sect have a solution?" Jiang Peng was also slurping noodles, but without garlic.

"In previous years, there have been famines. Afterwards, we would suppress a group of rioters and distribute some grain, and that would be the end of it."

At this point, Lan Yingying changed the subject.

"But this time it's different. I heard that the Jade Pavilion Sword Pavilion sent people into the Cang Kingdom, and behind the famine, there have been plagues in many places, as if evil cultivators are causing trouble in the dark."

"For such an event to occur during the beast tide, it's quite unusual for the upper sect to send two Foundation Establishment elders to the mortal realm to oversee things. It seems they are in a hurry."

Lan Yingying finished the noodles in her bowl and let out a satisfied hum.

"Mmm, that feels good."

There's still some left in the pot.

"I'm not eating anymore." Lan Yingying thought about how her figure had become increasingly "plump" lately, so she resolutely refused.

She got up to leave, but then suddenly remembered something and stopped.

"By the way, things haven't been very peaceful around the market lately. I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but if it's not necessary, it's best if you don't leave the market."

Jiang Peng thanked her, but didn't think much of it.

Ever since he was robbed and cheated on the black market last time, he has made up his mind not to leave the market area easily.

Just stay put, steadily improve your cultivation, and refine your spells more and more—that's enough.

...

Northeast corner.

Jiang Peng sat behind the stall with a worried look on her face, with Qian Laosi, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, beside her.

The beast tide has become increasingly fierce recently, and I heard that the independent cultivators in the market have already been recruited for the third time.

The biggest impact of this incident on Jiang Peng was that he could no longer see many of his old customers, which also slowed down the sales of his pills.

In the past, I could pack up my stall in half an hour, but today I've been there for an hour already, and I still have two bottles of Rejuvenation Pills left over.

"I need to find an opportunity to select some suitable first-grade mid-level pills. I need to choose those that are difficult to obtain, have high profit margins, and are easy to sell."

Jiang Peng pondered to herself.

He could actually save the money Danfang spent.

All you need to do is buy the finished pills, take them, and then follow the image in your mind to figure it out.

However, many of the alchemy techniques in the images in his mind were beyond Jiang Peng's cultivation level to perform.

Ultimately, one still needs the prescriptions to verify each other in order to learn quickly.

If one were to rely solely on self-study, the effort required to learn even one type of elixir would likely far exceed that required for the Dragon-Tiger Elixir.

Just as Jiang Peng was pondering this, Qian Laosi next to her was bragging non-stop, completely unaware that Jiang Peng had already lost focus.

"I was helping the Song family collect their bodies when suddenly a gust of wind blew up. I looked up, and guess what it was?"

"What?" Jiang Peng exclaimed almost instinctively.

"That's a third-tier great demon! A terrifying existence comparable to a Golden Core cultivator!"

"What a load of bull! You're just spouting nonsense!" Jiang Peng scoffed. "Do you think I'm completely oblivious to what's going on around me? There aren't any third-tier demons in this beast tide at all; it's led by two second-tier demons."

Qian Laosi was still being stubborn.

"Standing in command! Keeping things under control! Do you understand?"

Jiang Peng just smiled and didn't respond.

Just as the two were chatting and joking, three burly men suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Stall fee, 5 spirits per person," the leader said coldly.

Jiang Peng and Qian Laosi exchanged a glance, each seeing the surprise in the other's eyes.

"When did the concept of stall fees in the northeast corner come about?" Jiang Peng frowned.

Many independent cultivators who set up stalls may not even be able to make a sale once a day. If even setting up a stall requires costs, then it's even more impossible for them to survive.

"We didn't have it before, but we do now." The burly leader sneered condescendingly. "Our Iron Wolf Gang has taken over the northeast corner!"

Gangs?

Having been in the market for so long, Jiang Peng had only heard of gangs before, but this was the first time she had actually dealt with one.

The burly man in front of them was only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, which was just average even among rogue cultivators.

Jiang Peng chose to close the stall and leave.

"Fine, I won't sell it then?"

The burly man didn't stop her, but instead looked Jiang Peng up and down with ill intent.

"Sure, of course... but every time you come again, you'll have to pay spirit stones, no questions asked!"