Starting with the Corpse-Eating Worm, he worked his way up to become the Left-Winged Immortal Lord.

It turned out to be the case.

No wonder that Zhongli Daoren, despite practicing the unorthodox methods of the Ghost Market Broker and possessing a large amount of life essence, has only ever reached the second level of Qi Refining.

Seeing Gu Qing's stunned expression, Li Fu assumed Gu Qing was like he had been before, so he said earnestly, "Young Fellow Daoist Gu, this world has never lacked cultivators who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. The higher you go, the more you will see..."

Done.

Li Fu patted Gu Qing on the shoulder.

However, the thought of Chen Ye's heavy losses made him want to laugh.

"Understood, thank you, Master Li." Gu Qing raised his hand in a salute, his mind filled with the potential turmoil that might ensue after killing Zhong Li.

If it were just the death of a shady, unsavory character, the Wufeng Temple might not even bother. But now that Zhongli's shady business is linked to Chenye, the implications are entirely different. Chenye's people will do their utmost to investigate, and the county government will do the same.

Officer Xue is skilled in the art of mind-reading. If he finds my father and uses the art on him, what happened that night will definitely not be hidden.

Fortunately, the person was not killed by the father; he was only present that night.

However, it's hard to guarantee that Chen Ye won't take his anger out on his father after learning about this, or even force his father to become the next "Zhong Li".

Because the debt of five hundred taels was real, and that money most likely belonged to Chen Ye.

"Alright, you can continue with your own business. Use the five hundred taels to buy some cultivation supplies so you can reach the first level of Qi Refining as soon as possible." After saying that, Li Fu strode away and disappeared into the white mist with light steps.

This statement also served as a reminder to Gu Qing.

That is to improve one's cultivation level!

By improving his cultivation level, he could help Li Fu elevate his status within the Wufeng Temple.

With his elevated status, Chen Ye would have to be more cautious if he wanted to take his anger out on his father, and he certainly couldn't force him to become the next Zhongli. After all, he was still in the Wufeng Temple, and if this matter were to be exposed, Chen Ye would definitely suffer.

After all, there is also Xuanqing Temple above Wufeng Temple.

"In that case, we might as well use those life essences directly to cleanse the body and accelerate the process of refining."

"Raise your cultivation to the first level of Qi Refining as soon as possible."

With eight bottles of life essence, roughly estimated, he should be able to quickly complete the remaining thirty-odd refining processes.

If anyone doubts his cultivation speed, he can simply use the excuse of sacrificing his own vital energy, blood, or even life essence.

If a normal cultivator said this, no one would believe it.

But the heretical monk said this.

No one doubted it!

……

into the night.

Inside the gambling den courtyard.

Chen Ye stood with his hands behind his back, quietly standing beside the antique shelf, his eyes fixed on the empty hidden door.

He had already suffered some internal injuries from his previous battle with Deng Hui, and now that Zhongli had been killed and his life essence had been stolen, his face had turned even paler.

"Are there any clues?"

Chen Ye spoke.

A young Taoist priest waiting behind him quickly responded, "No, and I also had Fellow Daoist Li and the other two inquire carefully about all the gangs, big and small, in Changping County, and no unfamiliar faces appeared in the county."

The words fell.

The other three nodded in agreement.

These three men were the fathers of Li Huosheng and his two companions.

They usually help Chen Ye manage his business in Changping County, but now that something has happened, Cheng Xiu has pulled them over to help as well.

After all, the three of them had been based in Changping County for a long time and knew the county inside and out.

"Have you investigated any other miscellaneous or unorthodox schools of thought in the county?" Chen Ye asked again.

Cheng Xiu responded, "Not yet, but the incident happened very quickly last night. Looking at the entire Changping County, there are only a handful of people who could take Zhongli's life in such a short time. The old patriarch of Black Forest Village is too old to be able to do it; the eldest son of the Wang family in Northern Forest is powerful, but he has always been kind to others..."

"So you mean there's no one in the miscellaneous schools or unorthodox sects who is worthy of suspicion?" Chen Ye's cold eyes fell on Cheng Xiu.

The air inside the room suddenly turned several degrees colder.

The four of them lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound.

After letting out a heavy sigh, Chen Ye said angrily, "Call Xue Chen and have him accompany you to investigate. Don't let any miscellaneous or unorthodox sects escape... If necessary, also investigate the people inside the Wufeng Temple."

"clear."

Cheng Xiu raised her hand and quickly left the room.

The remaining three exchanged glances, and were about to suggest continuing to send gangs to thoroughly investigate the entire city, but Chen Ye suddenly stopped them.

"The three members of our family have all reached the first level of Qi Refining and can serve as disciples of the Sword-Bearing Sect, cultivating under the guidance of Daoist masters at the third level or above within the sect. I am currently considering selecting three masters for them and will give you news in a few days."

Upon hearing this...

The three exchanged a glance, and instantly understood.

With a wave of his hand, Li Huosheng's father took out a heavy cloth bag. "Master Li, this is a pound of Five Elements Divine Sand. Please take good care of it. If my son can follow you in cultivation and receive your guidance, that would be wonderful."

The other two also took out their gifts.

If we don't give a gift today...

They might not receive the news until a month later, and their child might not even be able to choose a particular spiritual path.

Seeing the three of them exchange greetings, Chen Ye's unpleasant expression eased slightly. "I was thinking the same thing."

"Thank you, Master Chen."

"Thank you, Master Chen."

The three spoke in unison.

……

at the same time.

Taking advantage of the absence of people in the dormitory, Gu Qing concealed his cultivation aura with a concealment talisman while taking out a jade bottle from the belly of the corpse-eating worm.

When a bottle of life essence was completely used up, Gu Qing had improved five levels of refinement, and the effect was quite remarkable.

"No wonder unorthodox cultivators like to use self-destructive cultivation methods. If they were to cultivate the wondrous technique of subduing evil and controlling insects, they could reach the first level of Qi Refining in just a few days. How could those who are eager for quick success and instant benefits resist?" Gu Qing sighed.

I put my thoughts aside.

Gu Qing drank one bottle after another.

When all eight bottles were used up, Gu Qing's physical body was completely refined, achieving the Hundred-Refined Yin Body.

The bookworm, having no chance of returning to its roots, naturally entered the first level of the true method of foundation building.

【The True Method of Foundation Building for Insects That Never Return (First Layer - 0/1000)】

After being refined a hundred times, his strength and all other aspects improved significantly, especially the Yin energy within his body, which flowed like a small river.

The Subduing and Controlling Insects Technique records that after nine refinements, when hundreds of strands of Yin energy are generated within the body, one can step into the first level of Qi Refining.

But his body contains far more than ten thousand strands!

If he were to reach the first level of Qi Refining, it would be no exaggeration to say that no other cultivator at the same level in the Wufeng Temple possessed more Yin Qi than him.

When they fought, he could exhaust his magical power ten times over while others still had energy left.

"This Corpse-Eating Insect Foundation Building True Method is truly terrifying. This is only before Qi Refining. After truly stepping into Qi Refining, it will probably be even more outrageous." Gu Qing sighed, threw the jade bottle back into the Corpse-Eating Insect's belly, and began to prepare to break through to the first level of Qi Refining.

After refining a hundred times, one only needs to transform Yin energy into Yin techniques to enter the first level of Qi Refining.

This process will proceed naturally without any obstacles.

It's because he has a lot of yin energy in his body, so it may take two or three days.

But none of that matters.

soon.

As dawn broke, the daily evaluation brought him another pleasant surprise: a Grade B rating.

Because of the Yin body's hundred refinements!