Chapter 212: Dragon-Tiger Profound Qi

Chapter 212: Dragon-Tiger Profound Qi

Xiao Cheng’s arm was like forged steel, tearing apart the Lightning Divine Beast with his bare hands. His powerful palm struck through the head of the golden flood dragon, slamming into the Cloud and Sunset Returning Qi Ning Xiaochuan had raised, shattering it once more.

Boom!

Ning Xiaochuan extended his palm to clash head-on with Xiao Cheng. Before he could even summon the Demonic Sword to devour Xiao Cheng’s Blood Qi, his body was already sent flying, crashing through a house.

A mocking smile curled on Xiao Cheng’s lips. "When your opponent’s cultivation far surpasses yours, even if you possess the Northern Abyss Divine Art, it’s utterly useless. Because your opponent won’t give you the chance to use it."

Ning Xiaochuan flipped back onto his feet, bracing himself on the ground as he stared at Xiao Cheng’s approaching figure. He grinned. "You must have heard of the Millennium Slumber Elixir, right?"

The Millennium Slumber was an exceedingly rare mystic medicine. Just a whiff of its scent could plunge a Martial Artist’s Blood Qi into complete dormancy, slowing their blood flow to an extreme crawl. Once Blood Qi slowed, the power they could wield would weaken drastically.

Xiao Cheng’s pupils contracted slightly as he watched Ning Xiaochuan retrieve a pill from the Heaven and Earth Bag, holding it between his fingers.

Ning Xiaochuan said, "I just so happen to have one last Millennium Slumber Elixir left. Would you like to experience its effects?"

"I don’t believe you." Xiao Cheng naturally wouldn’t be so easily intimidated.

Boom!

Ning Xiaochuan crushed the Millennium Slumber Elixir with his Profound Qi, turning it into powder that coalesced into a green mist, hurling it toward Xiao Cheng.

Though Xiao Cheng had claimed disbelief, he still didn’t dare approach the powder recklessly. His body swiftly retreated.

By the time the powder dissipated, Ning Xiaochuan and Duanmu Linger had already vanished without a trace.

"Run. Let’s see how many times you can escape!" Xiao Cheng clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with ruthless malice.

Ning Xiaochuan, whom he had regarded as an ant, had now escaped from his grasp twice. This was an immense humiliation. He had to find Ning Xiaochuan and grind his bones to dust.

---

Ning Xiaochuan and Duanmu Linger rode atop the Tai Sui Beast, speeding through the Underground World in desperate flight.

In truth, the Underground World wasn’t entirely safe. A powerhouse of Xiao Cheng’s level could unleash a strike powerful enough to kill a Martial Artist hiding 30 meters beneath the earth.

"We’re only five days away from the Nine Death Cliff. With our cultivation, we can reach it in two. We must hurry there immediately. Once we arrive, we’ll be safe," Duanmu Linger said.

Ning Xiaochuan shook his head. "Even a fool would know we’d flee toward the Nine Death Cliff. But if we actually go there, we’d be the fools. If we escape toward the Moshate Desert, we might still have a sliver of hope."

With their martial prowess, they could reach the Nine Death Cliff in two days.

Xiao Cheng would undoubtedly anticipate this and lie in wait along the way. If they truly rushed to the Nine Death Cliff, they’d be walking straight into a trap.

The Moshate Desert was vast and boundless, devoid of life—a true wasteland. Even powerful Martial Artists who ventured in risked perishing.

But given Ning Xiaochuan’s current predicament, fleeing into the Moshate Desert was his only chance of survival.

To survive, one must first embrace death.

Ning Xiaochuan and Duanmu Linger had already fled into the desert for two days, with nothing but endless yellow sand stretching in all directions. Even with their cultivation levels, they had completely lost their sense of direction.

"Is this the 'glimmer of hope' you mentioned? I feel like we’ll end up worse than if we’d died at Xiao Cheng’s hands," Duanmu Linger said.

Ning Xiaochuan lay on the back of the Double-headed Stone Beast, using his hands as a pillow, eyes closed in cultivation, as if he hadn’t heard a word she said.

The Double-headed Stone Beast trudged through the sand, leaving a long trail of hoofprints behind.

Seeing Ning Xiaochuan completely ignore her, Duanmu Linger grew furious. She activated her movement technique, leaped onto the beast’s back, and struck a palm toward Ning Xiaochuan’s chest.

Ning Xiaochuan’s eyes snapped open, and he pointed a finger.

"Whoosh!"

A strand of Dragon-Tiger Profound Qi shot from his fingertip. Though just a single strand, it took the form of a dragon and tiger entwined, exuding a majestic aura of a ruler.

"Roar!"

"Growl!"

The dragon’s cry and tiger’s roar echoed.

Duanmu Linger immediately withdrew her hand, her body light as a swallow as she gracefully descended from the beast. "What kind of Divine Ability was that?"

"That’s not a Divine Ability. It’s just my Martial Arts Profound Qi," Ning Xiaochuan said, sitting up.

Duanmu Linger didn’t believe him. "How can Profound Qi be so bizarre? And the one you just unleashed felt a thousand, no, ten thousand times stronger than ordinary Martial Arts Profound Qi. It’s almost comparable to a Martial Venerable’s Earth Martial Essence!"

Three hundred and sixty strands of Martial Arts Profound Qi were needed to condense a single strand of Misty Profound Qi.

One hundred and eighty strands of Misty Profound Qi were required to forge a single strand of Dragon-Tiger Profound Qi.

Naturally, the power of Dragon-Tiger Profound Qi was extraordinary—enough to obliterate the Profound Qi of other Martial Artists with overwhelming force.

Ning Xiaochuan had spent the past two days cultivating "Dragon-Tiger Profound Qi," and today, he had finally succeeded in refining his first strand. Pleased with his achievement, he patiently explained to Duanmu Linger.

"Profound Qi is divided into three grades. The lowest is 'Heaven and Earth Profound Qi,' followed by 'Misty Profound Qi,' and the highest is 'Dragon-Tiger Profound Qi.' The Martial Arts Profound Qi you cultivate is just the most basic Heaven and Earth Profound Qi, while what I just used was Dragon-Tiger Profound Qi. The grade of Profound Qi determines its power—they’re not even in the same league."

After saying this, Ning Xiaochuan lay back down and resumed his cultivation.

Duanmu Linger was stunned. This was the first time she had heard such a theory—even her father had never mentioned it.

"Hey, don’t just focus on cultivation. How are we supposed to get out of the Moshate Desert?" Duanmu Linger demanded.

Ning Xiaochuan replied, "No need to rush. I’m sure Xiao Cheng is far more anxious than we are right now. Staying in the desert is actually safer."

Duanmu Linger’s expression darkened. "The Moshate Desert isn’t some paradise. Even if we don’t starve to death, other dangers will find us."

"A Transcendent Realm Martial Artist doesn’t starve that easily."

"Ten or eight days won’t kill us, but what about a month or two?"

Ning Xiaochuan sat up again and retrieved a Mystic Wood box from his Heaven and Earth Bag. "Inside are three Four-Star Spiritual Herbs—Fasting Grass. Consuming one will keep you full for seven days. Want one?"

"Duanmu Linger wasn't a Heart Nurturer, so naturally, she didn’t carry mystic medicines with her. These three Four-Star Spiritual Herbs would be enough to sustain her for twenty-one days."

Ning Xiaochuan said, "Each Four-Star Spiritual Herb costs five hundred taels of Green Gold. Three would be one thousand five hundred taels."

"You might as well rob me! A single Four-Star Spiritual Herb is even more expensive than an Intermediate Elixir!" Duanmu Linger was nearly frantic.

"I am a Heart Nurturer. If the other party doesn’t pay, I naturally won’t give them mystic medicines." Ning Xiaochuan put away the Mystic Wood box and lay back down to continue cultivating.

"You—"

Duanmu Linger gritted her teeth in anger but ultimately held back.

Only two days had passed so far, and with her cultivation level, she didn’t urgently need the Four-Star Spiritual Herbs. Thus, she refused to compromise with Ning Xiaochuan.

Ning Xiaochuan lay on the Double-headed Stone Beast’s back to cultivate, while she also flew up and sat cross-legged to begin her own practice. The Double-headed Stone Beast’s body was large enough that even with both of them on it, there was no sense of crowding.

Though Duanmu Linger knew Ning Xiaochuan was her cousin, bound by blood, she still didn’t trust him. After all, Ning Xiaochuan had once done something utterly despicable to the Ruthless Ghost Envoy, proving his character was thoroughly rotten.

Of course, she had considered parting ways with him and going her own path, but she feared encountering Xiao Cheng, so she had no choice but to stay, despite the risk.

If Ning Xiaochuan dared to harbor any ill intentions toward her, she would fight him to the death.

For ten straight days in the desert, Ning Xiaochuan lay motionless on the Double-headed Stone Beast’s back—doing nothing but cultivating.

The aura around him grew increasingly immense, often accompanied by the roars of dragons and tigers. The Profound Qi seeping from his pores even took the form of these beasts.

When night fell, Ning Xiaochuan suddenly sat up on the Double-headed Stone Beast’s back.

"What are you doing?" Duanmu Linger immediately woke, eyeing him warily.

They were in the middle of a desolate desert, and someone as morally corrupt as Ning Xiaochuan was capable of anything.

Ning Xiaochuan didn’t answer. Instead, his body soared into the air as a surge of Profound Qi erupted beneath his feet, condensing into a massive Dragon over 50 meters long. A thunderous dragon’s roar echoed through the night.

Standing atop the Dragon’s back, Ning Xiaochuan unleashed waves of Profound Qi, transforming them into blood-red tigers. Eight hundred giant tigers soared through the sky, forming a breathtaking scene of dragons and tigers in motion.

"BOOM!"

The eight hundred tigers merged into one colossal divine tiger, its massive paw swiping down and obliterating a sand dune, sending a storm of yellow sand into the air.

The Profound Qi within his body had completely transformed into Dragon-Tiger Profound Qi.

Duanmu Linger sat on the Double-headed Stone Beast’s back, utterly stunned. Could such power truly erupt from a Martial Artist only at the Transcendent Realm Second Layer?

"Hmm?"

Ning Xiaochuan seemed to have noticed something and flew toward the collapsed dune, landing on the ground.

The sand dune had been destroyed by the divine tiger, revealing a withered Large Tree beneath—three meters in diameter, its bark yellowed and leaves long gone. It had been dead for many years, buried beneath the sands. If not for Ning Xiaochuan’s accidental strike, it might never have seen the light of day again.

"Whoosh!"

Duanmu Linger flew over and landed beside the withered Large Tree, her large eyes widening in disbelief. "This place is barren and lifeless, a land devoid of vitality. How could such a massive, ancient tree exist here? If this tree were still alive, it would have grown for at least a thousand years."

Only half of the withered tree was visible above the ground, while the other half lay buried deep beneath the yellow sand.

Ning Xiaochuan walked beneath the tree and plucked off a piece of bark the size of a fingernail. Beneath the bark, a pleasant pine fragrance wafted out, accompanied by faint wisps of pale green Profound Qi.

He brought the small piece of bark to his nose and inhaled deeply, his heart instantly blooming with joy. "I searched high and low without success, yet just when I stopped looking, you appeared on your own."

Duanmu Linger asked, "What are you so happy about?"

"I found the Common Pine. Haha, after searching far and wide to no avail, it came to me effortlessly!" Ning Xiaochuan laughed.