chsdbacks Chapter 77: Fire Attribute Qi and Blood
Chapter 77: Fire Attribute Qi and Blood
As darkness fell, a bonfire was lit by the lake.
Zhang Ping was not by the fire; he was immersed in the lake water. In front of him, he had cleared a space in the silt at the bottom of the lake and placed two piles of materials.
He stared at the materials for a long time before raising his hand to rub his face.
Is that all?
The previous attempts to brand animal patterns had all involved considerable effort in collecting materials. Now, stranded in the Western Poison Forest without the convenience of the city, he had expected it to be even more difficult this time. However, to his surprise, the materials were delivered to him that very evening after he mentioned it to Mu Ya that afternoon.
"Alright, we need to recover our strength as soon as possible. As for the prefectural city... I still don't know what the situation is like there." Zhang Ping suddenly remembered the situation in Lanjiang Prefecture.
During their escape, the Guitian River was breached by the mountain swamp, causing the cliffs on both sides to merge. The raging flood submerged the downstream area, and the original battlefield of Guitian River, if nothing unexpected had happened, would likely have been lifted up by the cliffs on both sides, forcibly squeezed into a new mountain range.
What became of the warrior alliance that fought there that day? Did they manage to defeat the demons?
If they win, Fu Huiying and the others must be extremely anxious because they haven't heard from me for so long.
If they were to lose... the consequences would be unimaginable. The prefectural city would face the demons' army head-on, and Lanjiang City would be in grave danger. How could two ordinary women, Fu Huiying and Lu Wanrou, possibly survive in such a chaotic world?
Therefore, no matter what, the most important thing is to recover our strength as soon as possible and return to Lanjiang City!
Having figured this out, Zhang Ping no longer hesitated and focused his mind on preparing to brand the beast pattern.
By the lake,
The campfire baked the damp earth, making the ground slightly hard. All around were waist-high shrubs and aquatic plants, with tall trees gradually rising up a little further from the lake.
Muya sat by the fire, clutching a wooden stick with grass carp skewered on it, turning it over from time to time.
Mu Xiaoya squatted down beside her, her eyes fixed on the grilled fish, her little hands holding the spices Zhang Ping had left over from yesterday.
Beside the two sat a still-attractive middle-aged female demon, Mu Qing.
Mu Qing's gaze lingered on the grilled fish for a moment before turning to the lake shrouded in night. She lowered her voice and said, "Chieftain, that human named Zhang Ping doesn't seem to have any ill intentions towards us."
Muya nodded without saying a word.
Meanwhile, Mu Xiaoya proudly raised her little face: "Of course! Zhang Ping is a really nice person, unlike other humans!"
She had never actually seen any other humans. When she was little, she had only heard her older sister say that all the people outside were bad and that she should stay away from them. But Zhang Ping was someone she had personally picked up, just like when they were playing house as children, so she was sure he was a good person.
Seeing Mu Xiaoya's innocent appearance, Mu Ya and Mu Qing exchanged a smile but didn't say anything.
After a while, a faint smell of burnt fish wafted from Mu Ya's grilled fish. Mu Qing gently touched her arm.
"Clan chief?"
"Huh? Oh!" Muya snapped out of her daze and quickly flipped the fish over.
"Sigh..." Mu Qing sighed. She was voluptuous, with a mature charm, and the faint crow's feet at the corners of her eyes were the marks of time.
The female demon race has a long lifespan; even an ordinary female demon without any cultivation can live for over two hundred years. Once they embark on the path of cultivation, the increase in lifespan is even more astonishing.
But fate is fair, and they paid a price for it. Cultivation and survival are extremely dependent on specific environments, and the speed of cultivation is exceptionally slow. Mu Qing has cultivated for over three hundred years, yet she has only barely reached the Refining Realm.
Muya was the most talented among her clan, and she reached the late stage of the Refining Realm in just 150 years.
"Chieftain, perhaps... we can establish a better relationship with him." Mu Qing has lived for over three hundred years, followed two generations of chieftains, and led the tribe to relocate their habitat no less than ten times.
To outsiders, they are a mysterious race of female demons, with long lifespans and exquisite beauty.
But only they themselves know the true situation.
In the Western Poison Forest, the banshees are in a precarious situation. Over the past century, the banshee race has grown increasingly distant from the overlord, the Poison Dragon, and has also attracted the ostracism and scheming of other races.
Exquisite beauty is of no use here; no other race besides humans would appreciate their beauty.
Mu Qing was not a conservative or stubborn person. Through repeated migrations, she constantly pondered and realized that the banshee clan could no longer continue as it was...
Being complacent and isolated will only lead to maintaining the status quo or even decline; the only way out is to break free from isolation and establish exchanges with other races.
Muya understood her meaning. The two had discussed contact with humans privately many times, but had never had a suitable opportunity. They were worried about the cunning of humans and afraid of falling into their trap.
Now that Zhang Ping has appeared, and his sister has saved his life, this natural bond could be a turning point in establishing connections with the outside world.
However, since it concerns the fate of the entire clan, Muya cannot make a decision easily and needs to be extremely cautious.
"Let's wait and see, let's try getting to know each other first," Muya said softly.
Mu Xiaoya neither understood nor cared about their conversation. Smelling the aroma of her grilled fish, she immediately pestered her sister, "Sister, it'll be ready soon! Quickly help me apply the spices; the last one smelled so good!"
Muya took the spice powder from her sister, sprinkled it on the grilled fish, took a small bite, and found it tasted quite good.
The crater is located at a high elevation, and although it is surrounded by a raised outer ring, the evening breeze blowing across the lake still brings a cool feeling.
Around the campfire, the succubi sat or lay down, chatting idly in twos and threes.
A breeze swept by, lifting their short skirts woven from leaves and revealing their smooth pubic areas. They didn't seem to care, casually pulling their skirts back into place.
Some female demons, in order to cool off, even untied the leaf-woven coverings they used to cover their upper bodies, walked to the lake, and scooped up the cool lake water to wash away the sweat and dirt from their bodies.
Outside the crater, the nights in the Western Poison Forest are never peaceful. The distant roars of beasts and the mournful screams constantly tell of the dangers of this jungle.
The bottom of the emerald green lake,
Zhang Ping slightly opened his eyes, glanced at the female demon washing herself by the lake, clicked his tongue twice, then focused his mind and turned his attention back to himself.
Zhang Ping
Age: 22
[Realm Level: Mid-stage Refining Realm]
【烙印：驴鞭纹（满）......鬼刀（81％）水之神力（93％）黑龙血脉（稀释）（17％）静水定（24％）火焱（0％）玄武甲（0％）】
[Ruyi - Donkey Whip Pattern: Significantly enhances lower limb strength and resilience.]
......
【Ghost Blade: The innate swordsmanship of the demonic swordsman, cutting through illusion】
[Water Divine Power: A natural supernatural ability of mountains and marshes, the power to control water]
[Black Dragon Bloodline (Diluted): Originating from the depths of the Unicorn Dragon Fish bloodline, inherited from the ancient Black Dragon. Greatly enhances physical strength and talent; sufficient bloodline concentration allows awakening the Black Dragon Body.]
[Still Water Calm: A natural ability of the Still Water Turtle, enhancing attributes and accelerating cultivation while submerged in water. Slightly slows the loss of life force.]
【Fire Flame: The innate ability awakened by an adult Flamebird, transforming its blood and energy into fire, inflicting intense burning】
[Black Tortoise Armor: A natural ability of the Black Tortoise bloodline, which, when activated, forms an indestructible Black Tortoise armor.]
The beast-patterned flames and the branding of the Xuanwu Armor healed most of his injuries.
The Fire Flame is primarily offensive and can transform one's Qi and Blood into fire attributes. Although he had never heard of the concept of Qi and Blood attributes before, after being branded with the Fire Flame, Zhang Ping clearly felt a burning sensation in the Qi and Blood flowing within his body.
He slightly extended his right hand, and a ball of vital energy condensed in his palm. With a thought,
The energy sphere suddenly transformed into a raging fire, its temperature far exceeding that of ordinary flames. The surrounding water hissed and was instantly evaporated into white vapor. Zhang Ping continued to output energy, and even though it was covered by lake water, the fireball continued to burn steadily.
"This temperature... it's probably hot enough to melt gold and iron." Without precise measurements, he could only make a rough judgment based on his intuition.
"Wait, I wonder if the black blood energy from the Ghost Blade Beast Pattern will have any effect?" A thought flashed through Zhang Ping's mind, and a black light flashed in his eyes.
The blood and qi in the body quickly turned dark.
The next moment, the flame in his palm suddenly changed color! It transformed into a pitch-black fireball, and the intense heat distorted and deformed the surrounding water, blurring his vision.
"The temperature has at least doubled?!" Zhang Ping's heart skipped a beat. The black blood energy could actually greatly enhance the power of his fire-attribute blood energy! This meant that the destructive power of his future blood energy attacks would increase dramatically!
After testing the power of the beast-patterned flames, Zhang Ping focused his attention on the Xuanwu Armor.
"The Xuanwu descendant's innate defensive ability... perfectly compensates for my defensive weakness." He took a deep breath and said in a low voice:
"Black Tortoise Armor!"