Chapter 667 - 392: Forge a Bloody Path
Meanwhile, Su Qingyu, who wasn’t far away, had grown numb to Zou Feng’s transformation.
In just half a night, after absorbing the External Pill, the perceived enhancement in Zou Feng was so great that, at least in Su Qingyu’s eyes, it was as if he had become a completely different person.
When Zou Feng performed the Refinement of the External Pill, a strange phenomenon had manifested in a radius of several miles.
Within that radius, everything was imbued with a "delicious" quality; even a rock looked incredibly appetizing.
The Outer Alchemy Dao, when cultivated to its peak, was meant to devour heaven and earth and refine everything in existence.
It was precisely because the Nine Immortal Ascension Skills were all extremely destructive when cultivated to their peak that they were rejected by orthodox Cultivators.
After standing up, Zou Feng took a single, casual step and appeared right in front of Su Qingyu.
They only needed to exchange a single glance for Su Qingyu to sense that Zou Feng was suddenly in the mood for an "exchange."
He hadn’t been before. After all, they were both fleeing for their lives and couldn’t afford any distractions.
But now, Zou Feng’s power had surged. In addition, the two Judges were temporarily held back by the side effects that had been transferred to them. Thus, Zou Feng got the idea to let Su Qingyu benefit as well.
After all, if Su Qingyu’s strength also saw a great boost, they might be able to continue trapping and killing Golden Core Realm experts.
Reading the look in his eyes, Su Qingyu couldn’t help but feel some reservations, even though this was exactly what she wanted.
"Do I need to remind you that we’re still on the run? This isn’t a good time for an ’exchange’."
In truth, their "exchange" was a form of Cultivation, but because it was so pleasurable, it would inevitably cause a slight distraction.
If they were attacked by a powerful enemy, their reactions might be a beat slower as a result.
In response to Su Qingyu’s concerns, Zou Feng just gave a carefree laugh, and his large, fan-like hand snatched her out of the air.
"If we’re talking about this being a bad time... then we shouldn’t have trapped and killed that Golden Core Realm Immortal Official earlier!"
"Besides, we can keep moving while we have our ’exchange.’ It won’t slow us down at all!"
With that, Zou Feng hoisted Su Qingyu up and actually began multitasking, "exchanging" with her as they fled.
And wouldn’t you know it, the unprecedented experience even led to them unlocking quite a few new positions.
Before long, however, Su Qingyu began to struggle.
The toxins in Zou Feng’s body were now significantly stronger. Coupled with the fact that the man was tireless, continuously transferring the toxins to her at high intensity, Su Qingyu was already at her limit by the time dawn broke.
"Stop... Just for a second... I... I can’t take it anymore..." When it came to "exchanges" between Poison Cultivators, Su Qingyu had always been dominant and never one to back down.
Her Calamity Poison Body had always given her the capital to refuse to yield.
This time, however, Su Qingyu truly understood the meaning of "a body of bronze and iron" and "a boundless, immeasurable ocean."
Hearing Su Qingyu’s sudden plea for mercy, Zou Feng didn’t immediately grasp the problem. "What’s wrong?"
"I’m... I’m about to break..."
Seeing the look of utter collapse on Su Qingyu’s face, Zou Feng hastily stopped their "exchange."
As he paused their "exchange," Zou Feng also stopped running and gently placed Su Qingyu down on a patch of soft grass.
"So? Has the Palace Master’s Calamity Poison Body seen a great improvement?" Zou Feng asked casually, taking the opportunity to stop and catch his breath.
"Improvement, my ass," Su Qingyu snapped. "Can’t you see I’m severely injured here?"
Zou Feng smiled faintly. "It’s not that dramatic. It always hurts a bit at first, but the good part will come soon enough!"
Su Qingyu rolled her eyes and was about to retort. But in the next instant, as if to prove Zou Feng right, her physical state truly began to change.
Poison was something one had to adapt to.
It had simply come on too strong and in too great a quantity. Even with her Calamity Poison Body, she had been unable to adapt all at once. That was why she had only felt the pain, not yet the benefits.
But now, she had clearly almost finished adapting. The boons from the new toxins instantly flooded her entire body, making her feel as if she were floating on clouds.
"Nngh... Ahhh—"
An uncontrollable, highly suggestive cry escaped her lips as Su Qingyu rose stiffly from the grass and ascended into the air on the spot.
This was her Skill reacting, activating automatically and instinctively to better absorb the new toxins.
Floating in mid-air, and because the pleasure was simply too intense, Su Qingyu involuntarily began to dance.
It seemed that ever since being led astray by Zou Feng, Su Qingyu had subconsciously developed an inclination for Entering the Dao through dance.
After a long while, Su Qingyu slowly descended from the sky, returning to normal.
But the benefits of this "exchange" between Poison Cultivators amounted to a qualitative transformation for her.
Not only were the various Poison Techniques she cultivated greatly enhanced, but she even showed faint signs of an imminent breakthrough to the Dao Foundation Realm Late Stage.
Now, Su Qingyu also felt terrifyingly powerful.
She almost wished another Golden Core Realm Tribulation Cultivator would show up so the two of them could score another big haul.
But that was just a fleeting thought. It was better not to court death.
After all, no one could predict whether the next Golden Core Realm Tribulation Cultivator they encountered would be a straggler like Zi Caiyi, or a group of two or three traveling together.
It was only because Zou Feng understood the greed of Tribulation Cultivators who practiced the Outer Alchemy Dao, and had guessed that Zi Caiyi likely wouldn’t want to share the spoils, that he had chosen to set a specific trap and take a gamble.
Needless to say, once the high was over, they had to get back to fleeing.
But apparently, because the Refinement of the External Pill had cost them half a night, many of the hunting Tribulation Cultivators had caught up. As a result, their escape was no longer as peaceful as it had been.
About every hour, they would be surrounded and intercepted by Tribulation Cultivators.
These pursuers were mainly comprised of Impermanence from the Yama Underworld and Celestial Generals from the Ninefold Celestial Court, with the occasional appearance of rebellious members of the Demon Race.
Unfortunately for them, no matter who came, they were no match for the current Zou Feng.
Impermanence from the Yama Underworld? He caught and refined them in an instant. The Celestial Generals from the Ninefold Celestial Court? They were all prime material for External Pills; their appearance was nothing more than a personal delivery service.
As for the members of the Demon Race, he would refine the poisonous ones and simply blow the non-poisonous ones to bits.
Only when they encountered large numbers of Impermanence and Celestial Generals did it cause Zou Feng and Su Qingyu any trouble.
But even when the Tribulation Cultivators arrived in swarms, breaking through the encirclement was still a relatively easy task given their current power.
「Three days passed in this cycle of fighting and fleeing.」
Over these three days, Zou Feng had well and truly entered a killing frenzy, existing in a constant state of exhilaration.
Fortunately, he had a constant supply of External Pills to replenish his energy. Otherwise, he would have become so exhausted that he’d have no choice but to find a hidden place to rest.
Su Qingyu was also high on the slaughter. She, who was once a crystal-clear prison guard, was now stained with so much blood from the Tribulation Cultivators—some of it too peculiar to be washed away easily—that she had become a "blood-soaked guard."
After three days of slaughter, Zou Feng’s Cultivation Skill and other Skills had improved again, but the increase was not significant compared to the boost from the Refinement of a Golden Core Realm External Pill.
An unexpected surprise was the considerable improvement of his Yin Fiend Art.
The pursuing Tribulation Cultivators were already brimming with Evil Qi, and Zou Feng, having been in a killing frenzy the whole time, had his own Evil Qi maxed out as well.
Evil Qi Guiding Art (Perfection), Progress: 98%
This Skill, the very first one he had learned upon entering the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, was on the verge of reaching the Limit-Breaking Realm.
Zou Feng instinctively sensed that once this Skill reached the Limit-Breaking Realm, the Dragons of Evil Qi produced when he used his Evil King’s Fiery Black Dragon Wave would no longer be limited to just nine.
By sacrificing some power, he might even be able to unleash the Evil King’s Hundred Dragon Flame Wave.
"Something’s not right over there!"
Zou Feng was taking advantage of their rest to feel the changes from his improved Evil Qi Guiding Art when Su Qingyu’s sudden warning cut through the air.
Hearing her, Zou Feng immediately got to his feet and looked in the direction she was pointing.
The distant sky was shrouded in an incredibly thick black smoke. Even from such a great distance, he could feel its unnatural power, as if it were a giant beast capable of devouring everything around it.
Without a doubt, this was the work of a Golden Core Realm Tribulation Cultivator.
Moreover, this Tribulation Cultivator seemed to be the same one they had encountered right after arriving at the Celestial Hearing Tower.
Back then, Jiang Wanzhao had personally taken action, but that person had only probed her strength for a moment before quickly slipping away.
Besides that individual, there were several other distinct auras within the black smoke.
Clearly, there was more than one Golden Core Realm expert present.
Seeing this, Zou Feng was about to tell Su Qingyu to run for it. But unexpectedly, a Palm Seal flashed within the black smoke, causing the step he was about to take to freeze mid-stride.
That Palm Seal... it was unmistakably one of Jiang Wanzhao’s Divine Skills...