Chaotic Times and Disasters: I Hunt Down Martial Arts Masters and Become a God

The purest life essence surged into the body through every pore, and unprecedented power coursed through the blood vessels. Every muscle, every bone, and every meridian was frantically absorbing this essence.

An Sheng's internal energy surged, and after soaking in the pool for nearly fifteen minutes, he suddenly opened his eyes, looked down at his hands, and...

"I've broken through! From the peak of the seventh level of the Meridian Opening Realm to the eighth level, and I'm still pushing upwards! This essence blood pool is more powerful than any elixir! Unfortunately, it seems I've reached my limit..."

He could sense that the pool was no longer of much use to him.

Xiahou Jun and An Sheng stood up from the pool almost simultaneously. Both felt their bodies brimming with power, their blood boiling. They exchanged a glance and spoke at the same time.

"A fight?"

"Just what I wanted!"

The two jumped out of the pool and began a duel in front of the Heavenly Palace gate, each wielding a weapon. An Sheng's new silver spear was like a dragon emerging from the sea, while Xiahou Jun's golden mace was like a tiger descending the mountain. The fight was evenly matched.

Only Fu Qing remained sitting in the pool.

He seemed to have an insatiable desire to devour the essence of blood. The essence in the pool was being absorbed into his body at a visible speed, and the color of the pool water was slowly fading, from dark red to light red, and from light red to pale pink.

Just as he was fully absorbing the essence blood, a tremor suddenly struck deep within his sea of ​​consciousness.

A semi-transparent phantom of an old man appeared in his mind. He had white hair and beard, a kind face, wore a moon-white robe, and was surrounded by a faint golden light.

"Who are you?"

Fu Qing was greatly shocked and blurted out in his mind.

"I am Qingming Jushi, or more precisely, a wisp of the spirit left behind by Qingming Jushi."

The old man's illusory voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, and a kind smile graced his lips.

"Young friend, there's no need to panic. I mean no harm. I left this pool of essence blood before I died, waiting for a destined person. The poison in your internal organs needs a large amount of life essence to suppress it, and this pool of blood has just solved your immediate problem—however, solving the immediate problem alone might not be enough, would it?"

He changed the subject, his smile still gentle, "I possess a legacy that can greatly enhance your skills, and you will also gain access to countless insights and cultivation experiences from my past life!"

"From the Golden Body Realm to the Second Grade of Painting Dao, every path I walked and every hurdle I comprehended in my lifetime can be passed on to you, except for one small drawback—"

"The recipient of the inheritance will lose their memory."

"That's called possession!"

Fu Qing was stunned for a moment, then blurted it out in his mind.

The recluse of Qingming chuckled, no longer feigning remorse. His kind eyes still held a smile, but beneath that smile lay a millennium of calculation:

"Young friend, you are indeed clever. I planned this before I died. I could have used my cultivation to live for several hundred more years, but I was not willing to stop at the second rank of painting. I wanted to break through to the first rank of painting and step into a higher realm."

"Therefore, I seized the secret cultivation method of the demon race, used the secret method to preserve the remnant spirit, and set up a secret realm to lure people to explore. I let countless explorers fight to the death in the secret realm so as to absorb the life force of dead creatures to keep the remnant spirit alive. At the same time, I selected the most suitable body from these explorers."

"Many people have come here over the years, but none of them have caught my eye. They either have poor physique, insufficient blood and qi, or blocked meridians—until you appeared."

The illusory figure of Qingming Jushi drifted slightly closer. "Young friend, I do not wish to take your life, but I have waited far too long. This secret realm only opens once every ten years. When it opens next time, I fear my remaining spirit will not be able to withstand it."

"So this time, I must go out. Only one of us can leave the secret realm alive. I hope you won't blame me."

Fu Qing's heart sank.

He knew that what the Qingming Hermit said was true. The mysterious collapse of the passages, the stone statues that suddenly came to life, and the monsters that seemed to have sentience and attacked them were all paving the way for this moment.

But he was helpless.

The crushing power of the remnant soul of the Golden Body Realm over the Meridian Opening Realm was a qualitative change; his willpower was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot in front of the Pure Bright Hermit.

Just as the remnant soul of Qingming Jushi transformed into a beam of azure light and surged into the depths of his sea of ​​consciousness, beginning its struggle for control of his body, a blinding golden light suddenly exploded within his sea of ​​consciousness.

The system panel appeared in his mind, and a line of cold text popped up:

[Invasion of a foreign will into the host's sea of ​​consciousness detected. Level assessment: Remnant soul of the Golden Body Realm/Painting Venerable Realm. Threat level: Fatal. Autonomous defense mechanism activated. Beginning to devour and transform!]

Immediately afterwards, a power even stronger than that of Qingming Jushi surged out from the system panel, transforming into a golden chain that bound Qingming Jushi's remnant soul.

"Tongbao!"

Fu Qing was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed—he truly hadn't expected the system to be able to devour even the remnant soul of a Dharma Aspect Realm cultivator, and even automatically protect him!

"What is this thing?!"

The lay Buddhist Qingming was greatly alarmed; the composure and gentleness in his voice shattered completely in an instant.

"This is impossible! How could such a thing be inside your body! What kind of magical artifact is this? What kind of cultivation technique is this?!"

The system, of course, did not answer him.

The golden chains tightened little by little, and with each tightening, a layer of Qingming Jushi's cyan soul power was devoured.

The Qingming Hermit struggled desperately, his azure soul power fiercely clashing with the golden chains within Fu Qing's sea of ​​consciousness. His screams of terror turned into pleas for mercy.

"Young friend! No, General Fu! I am willing to impart all my knowledge to you! I am willing to acknowledge you as my master! I am willing to be your servant! As long as you spare me..."

"Old man, this is a gift I prepared for you!"

Fu Qing sneered, "Surprised? Unexpected? Happy?"

"you--"

"You've lived for over a thousand years, killing countless people who entered the secret realm, absorbing their life force to sustain your own remnant spirit. Now you're being devoured, and you know to beg for mercy? Too late."

The golden chains tightened suddenly, squeezing the remnant soul of Qingming Jushi into a fist-sized ball of cyan light.

The sphere of light shattered silently within the chains, transforming into countless points of light that were absorbed into the system panel.

The last consciousness of the Qingming Layman dissipated in the light, leaving only a heart-wrenching scream that echoed in Fu Qing's mind for a long time before fading away.

System prompt:

[Absorption complete. Acquired remnant spiritual energy of the Golden Body Realm, currently undergoing transformation...]

Outside, Fu Qing sat cross-legged in the pool, his eyes closed and motionless, while the pool water was visibly fading.

The pure energy transformed from the remnant spirit of the Qingming layman, mixed with the life essence in the pool water, surged into his dantian.

His cultivation progress bar began to jump upwards segment by segment—the ninth level of the Meridian Opening stage was perfected.

First level of Qi...

His cultivation level had already reached the threshold of the Qi Refining Realm, but he was unable to break through due to this secret realm. Now that he has absorbed the spirit of the master of the secret realm, he can actually ignore the suppression.

The system indicated that the refining process was expected to take several more quarters of an hour, and the remaining energy of the remnant soul of the Qingming Hermit was still being transformed.

The pool water had turned completely transparent, and Fu Qing had absorbed all the remaining life essence and remnant soul energy of the Qingming Hermit.

He remained seated cross-legged at the bottom of the pool, his eyes closed, with pale golden energy slowly circulating around him, and the spiritual energy of the entire Heavenly Palace converging towards him.