Chapter 87: The Hundred Steps of Qi Manipulation

Muyu Island, at the martial training ground, Jiang Chen was practicing his spells. His body moved like willow catkins, swaying with the wind, a streak of silver light weaving around him, lively and agile to the extreme.

As time passed, Jiang Chen’s figure became increasingly blurred, and the speed of the silver light grew faster and faster, making it difficult for the naked eye to track.

“Go!”

At a certain moment, inspiration struck. Jiang Chen formed a sword gesture and pointed at a humanoid target a hundred meters away. In that instant, his true energy erupted, pouring entirely into the magical artifact, the Crane’s Cry Immortal Needle.

With a resonant cry that split the clouds and shattered stone, the Crane’s Cry Immortal Needle was activated by the surge of true energy. The silver light accelerated yet again, flashing like lightning, piercing the air and vanishing from sight.

“A hundred paces—once beyond that, my control over the Crane’s Cry Immortal Needle drops sharply, making precise maneuvering impossible. Still, it’s sufficient; after all, most spell duels among Qi Refining cultivators are fought within a hundred or two hundred meters.”

Standing in place, Jiang Chen felt the connection between himself and the Crane’s Cry Immortal Needle, thoughts flickering through his mind.

He recalled his previous bout with Lu Chen Zhou, where he witnessed Lu’s deadly techniques combining spellcraft, magical tools, and martial arts. Inspired, Jiang Chen fused magic and martial arts, creating a new mysterious killing technique, the Profound Killing Finger, with remarkable power. Now, however, he had combined spellcraft, martial arts, supernatural abilities, and magical artifacts.

“As it stands, the combination of Qi Thread Technique, Bewitchment, Fast Sword, and the Crane’s Cry Immortal Needle is indeed feasible. The Qi Thread Technique allows me to guide the sword with energy; the fusion of Bewitchment and the Crane’s Cry makes the cry even more intimidating; the Fast Sword grants the Crane’s Cry Immortal Needle greater versatility.”

Reflecting on his previous experiences, Jiang Chen knew his approach was sound.

He himself had no mastery of sword techniques, but had once slain a marauder skilled in Fast Sword and, through soul search, obtained the secret of Fast Sword. Now, he had woven that insight into his newly created spell.

Though this didn’t make the technique more powerful, it added new variations.

“In my vision, the essence of this move is to pierce the surface at a single point, concentrating all force into one spot. Combined with the Crane’s Cry Immortal Needle’s innate armor-piercing power, the lethality should reach its peak. But for now, the force is not yet focused enough; otherwise, the wound left would be a red dot, not a fist-sized hole.”

Approaching the humanoid iron target, Jiang Chen frowned as he examined the fist-sized hole in its chest, but his expression quickly relaxed.

The next moment, he lightly beckoned with his hand, and under the manipulation of true energy threads, the Crane’s Cry Immortal Needle returned to his side. The Qi Thread Technique at its minor mastery stage gave him more control; otherwise, it would not be so easy to wield the Crane’s Cry Immortal Needle.

Of course, a powerful spirit was the foundation of it all.

“The refinement of force will come with practice. Perhaps I can integrate Condensing Qi Technique and Qi Sword Technique as well.”

“Though I have many techniques to learn now, the core of the Minor Universal Scripture is the Skin Wearing Technique. Without my true demon skin, I lack a decisive killing blow.”

With these thoughts, Jiang Chen once again guided the Crane’s Cry Immortal Needle, practicing his newly created spell. This time, however, his opponent was no longer a humanoid iron target, but the Iron Fighter Corpse.

With a furious roar, the corpse transformed into a four-armed Vajra and launched an attack at Jiang Chen.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen met the challenge, guiding the Crane’s Cry Immortal Needle with his energy.

In the blink of an eye, man and corpse were locked in fierce battle. Jiang Chen’s strikes were sharp, while the corpse’s defense was astonishing. For a time, the two fought evenly.

It continued until the sun sank below the horizon and Jiang Chen’s true energy nearly ran dry, at which point he finally stopped. The Iron Fighter Corpse’s Vajra body was now dull, covered with numerous needle marks, both large and small.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen exhaled deeply.

Having waited patiently at the side, Wang Yuan now hurried over.

“Master, something’s happened.”

With both hands, Wang Yuan offered Jiang Chen a cup of tea, then spoke.

Hearing this, Jiang Chen took the tea, sipped it, and turned his gaze toward Wang Yuan.

“Master, the informant from the county office reports that Magistrate Liao Yonghuai recently received three outsiders, claiming to be cultivators from the Fisher Spirit Sect. To show respect, he personally went out to welcome them. The leader appears to be a Qi Refining cultivator. They seem intent on settling in Qinghe County, and the magistrate seems eager to facilitate this.”

Meeting Jiang Chen’s gaze, Wang Yuan quickly explained the situation.

Jiang Chen raised his brows slightly. Qinghe County was a lower-tier county; though populous and broad, it lacked notable cultivation resources. He hadn’t expected it to become so sought after.

“Intent on stirring things up? It seems our magistrate isn’t satisfied even after taking what we offered—truly greedy as ever, always taking without giving.”

Casting his gaze toward Qinghe County, Jiang Chen recalled the congratulatory gift Liao Yonghuai sent when he opened the mountain, and let out a cold laugh.

Seeing this, Wang Yuan bowed his head in silence.

“If they have a Qi Refining cultivator, then the Fisher Spirit Sect cannot be obscure. Go contact the Lu family, have them inquire about the Fisher Spirit Sect's background, and try to find out the identities and strength of those three.”

After a brief consideration, Jiang Chen issued his orders. The Peaceful Sect was still only a local power, with few external sources of information, so for now, they had to rely on the Lu family.

Wang Yuan bowed and acknowledged the command.

“Sect Master, if the Fisher Spirit Sect really intends to settle in Qinghe County, how should we respond?”

After some hesitation, Wang Yuan voiced his question.

“It depends on their strength. If they're formidable, we need not interfere much at first.”

“If they want to establish themselves, let them build. Just make sure they don’t have too smooth a time in the later stages. It’s not so easy to found a true sect—and time is always on our side.”

Jiang Chen was no stranger to such matters, and had already made his calculations.

Had these three from the Fisher Spirit Sect arrived sooner, he might have been troubled. Now, however, it was too late. Though time had been short, with interests aligned, Qinghe County’s upper and lower echelons had all become Peaceful Sect’s people.

Though these ties were not particularly strong, the Peaceful Sect could offer things the Fisher Spirit Sect likely could not; otherwise, they would not have drifted to Qinghe County.

For outsiders in a foreign land, founding a sect from scratch with only three members was no easy feat. The Peaceful Sect’s swift rise owed much to inheriting the bandit legacy from Dangjiang, with a complete network and personnel.

In these circumstances, if the Peaceful Sect wished, they could easily entangle the Fisher Spirit Sect, draining their energy with trivial matters—thus proving the adage that even a mighty dragon cannot suppress a local snake. Of course, this only held true if the dragon was a false one, not a true dragon.

Hearing all this, Wang Yuan’s eyes brightened.

“Sect Master, your insight is admirable. I am sincerely impressed.”

With genuine admiration, Wang Yuan bowed to Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen frowned at this, but said nothing, only waved Wang Yuan away.

“The arrival of the Fisher Spirit Sect is rather peculiar.”

After Wang Yuan left, Jiang Chen looked toward Qinghe County, lost in thought.