Chapter 128
After battling with the branches for several exchanges,
“Break!”
Tie Qi’s great halberd gathered internal energy into a fierce aura, and behind him, a shadow of a heavily armored general faintly emerged.
With a single thrust, he pierced through the tree demon.
However, just as Tie Qi was about to breathe a sigh of relief, his expression suddenly darkened.
Creak, creak—
The entire forest came alive, shadows of trees swirling wildly, as if winter-hibernating snakes had been awakened.
It was a canopy that blocked out the sun.
“This is troublesome…”
Tie Qi found himself in a bitter struggle.
Each tree demon here was at the Internal Breath realm, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming.
Moreover, their bodies were as tough as the ones he had trained against, making them quite a handful.
Even with the general’s shadow behind him, the speed at which he wielded his halberd was slowing down.
...
A quarter of an hour later.
“I can’t drag this out any longer. If I wait until I break through, I’ll be out of energy.”
Tie Qi decisively slapped his thigh.
His upper body suddenly propelled forward, trying to fly out of this place.
However, branches suddenly wove a dense net in the air, covering him completely.
It was a tree demon king.
Its aura was evidently stronger than his.
“Is my exploration of the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm coming to an end here…”
Tie Qi felt a bitter pang in his heart.
The fatigue in his body and the pain in his flesh made him momentarily recall past memories.
A cripple might be able to practice martial arts.
But what about someone who had no legs at all?
Things that ordinary people could do with ease required him to exert all his effort, even going to the bathroom.
Compared to his fellow disciples, he was merely a disabled person.
All he could do was put in more effort than others.
While others ran, he supported himself with his hands, climbing down the mountain and then crawling back up bit by bit. At first, it took him several days to complete a round trip, and when he was hungry, he would eat the flatbread tied around his neck, and when thirsty, he would drink dew.
Later, relying on half of his meridians, he successfully opened his channels, and his master specially crafted a pair of mechanical legs for him.
He stood up.
All the past ridicule, despair, and confusion were left behind.
But those legs were still not his own.
His body still remained incomplete.
Now, perhaps in the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm, there was a kind of Róng Dì Guǒ (融地果, a mythical fruit that could restore one’s body) that could complete his physical deficiencies.
Yet the distance to that seemed insurmountable by mere willpower.
The sharp tip of a branch came crashing down, rapidly enlarging in his vision.
It was a tree demon king.
“Is this the end…?”
“Is it because I haven’t worked hard enough?”
In Tie Qi’s calm heart, there was no resentment, only confusion.
Crack—
A sound of a branch snapping echoed.
Tie Qi opened his eyes in bewilderment.
He saw the tree demon before him engulfed in flames, writhing in pain.
“Huh?”
Tie Qi had tried to set it on fire before, but even with oil, he couldn’t ignite the tree demon.
Who?
He looked up.
A figure had already grabbed a long sword, lightly brushing his finger across it, igniting the entire blade.
Behind the young man, a blazing sun seemed to emerge.
The Sun Wheel Sword Classic.
“Die!”
In a breath, countless sparks erupted from the solar halo, sweeping down in line with the sword’s direction.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
The explosive rain of fire pierced through the body of the tree demon king.
With a sound that made one’s teeth ache, the tree demon king collapsed.
The other tree demons fell silent, not daring to approach.
“Li Laodi?”
Looking at the godlike youth, Tie Qi was completely stunned.
“Good thing I made it in time.”
Li Mo sheathed his sword and turned back, grinning widely.
The two had shared drinks the night before, finding a kindred spirit in each other.
In short, they could boast together.
“Li Laodi, you should leave quickly.”
“I’ve got this!”
The hope that had just risen in Tie Qi’s heart was dashed again.
That sword technique, so powerful, was undoubtedly a supreme skill.
Li Mo was only at the Internal Breath Yuyue realm, without even condensing a Xuan Dan.
To unleash such a sword technique to fight above his level was already impressive; he surely wouldn’t be able to recover his energy in a short time.
He definitely couldn’t run away now; he just hoped this young man, whom he had met only once…
“Huh?”
“You want to do it yourself? Alright, alright.”
Li Mo hadn’t expected the other’s willpower to be so astonishing, still wanting to fight even in this state.
After a moment’s thought, he took out something.
“Open your mouth.”
“Ah?”
Before Tie Qi could even speak, he felt something slide down his throat.
“Li Laodi, why are you stuffing strange things into my mouth?”
“I wasn’t bragging yesterday.”
Li Mo chuckled.
Tie Qi was taken aback.
After eating what Li Laodi had given him, why did it feel…
Like his lower body was itching?
Li Mo’s ears also rang with a notification:
【Congratulations, host, you have successfully invested in ‘Tie Qi’, helping him restore his disability and save his life.】
【Investment feedback: Bloodbath Battle Soul Talisman】
【Bloodbath Battle Soul Talisman】: “A one-time use item that allows the ancient battle soul to possess the user, greatly increasing combat power, making one braver in battle, lasting for fifteen minutes.”
“Perfect.”
“Too bad it’s just one…”
This thing was simply too valuable as a trump card.
Moreover, who knew what other changes would occur in the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm? With this item, he felt a bit more confident.
---
Chapter 127: Saving the Suffering, Li Shaoxia
Tie Qi felt a tingling in his legs, as if thousands of ants were gnawing at him.
Yet he felt no pain; instead, he stared blankly, afraid this was just an illusion.
His empty legs began to sprout bones, and quickly, meridians and flesh grew over them.
It all felt like a dream.
But the pain served as a clear reminder that this was real.
Tie Qi suddenly remembered.
Last night, while drinking with this young man, he had mentioned a way to heal him, to let him walk again.
At the time, he thought the young man was just tipsy and boasting.
But…
“Not making a sound, Old Tie is quite the tough guy.”
Li Mo silently gave him a thumbs up in his heart.
“Li Laodi, this is…” Tie Qi’s throat felt dry.
“Róng Dì Bǔ Shēn Dān (融地补身丹).”
Li Mo casually replied.
Those few short words stirred up a storm in Tie Qi’s heart.
He had longed to restore his disability, and naturally knew that this Róng Dì Bǔ Shēn Dān was a pill made from Róng Shēn Cǎo (融身草) combined with many rare ingredients.
In fact, even if he found Róng Shēn Cǎo, he wouldn’t know how long it would take to gather enough rare ingredients and pay for a pill master’s services.
The effects were so good; the pill’s pattern count must be high…
And that pill had just been dramatically swallowed by him without his knowledge.
“Li Laodi, such a precious pill, I don’t know how to repay you…”
“Old Tie, you don’t seem like the type to be so sentimental.”
Li Mo waved his hand and teased:
“Last night, after drinking, you weren’t like this.”
The time they had spent together wasn’t long.
But he felt that Old Tie was straightforward and generous, someone worth befriending.
Moreover, Li Mo himself wasn’t at a loss; he had gained a lot.
“…”
Tie Qi stood up, his lips twitching, tears welling in his tiger-like eyes:
“Your grace of rebirth, if Li Laodi needs anything in the future, I’ll go through fire and water without hesitation.”
“No worries, let’s deal with the trouble at hand first.”
Li Mo pointed not far away.
After the flames had burned the tree demon king to ashes, a dark mass of tree demons began to stir again.
It was unclear whether it was due to their low intelligence or because they thought the flames wouldn’t appear again.
“Yeah!”
Tie Qi nodded vigorously, wiping away the tears he had shed for the first time in his life:
“Li Xiong, could you move a bit?”
“Huh? No need, I’m not that weak; I don’t need to hide.”
“No, you’re standing on my halberd.”
“…”
Alright.
In the end, the two didn’t fight side by side.
Tie Qi charged forward alone, wielding his great halberd, feeling a sense of liberation as he swept away the burdens in his heart, clearing the clouds to see the sun.
After being a cripple for so many years, he needed to vent his frustrations.
Li Mo quietly watched from the side, allowing him to charge through the swarm of tree demons.
Unexpectedly, there was a pleasant surprise.
In the midst of battle, Tie Qi broke through.
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