Chapter 40: Two Types of Vital Energy?

Qu Yi no longer resembled Li Mu in appearance; he now looked like a middle-aged man. Most importantly, the fluctuations in Qu Yi’s vital energy were of the Wood element, which was completely different from Li Mu’s Gold element.
Thus, when Qu Yi appeared, Meng Chen was merely surprised that he knew his name, not realizing that Qu Yi was actually Li Mu from the siege on Desert Star.
“Mid-Stage Fusion… How dare you threaten me at this stage? Since when has the cultivation world produced such a bold fool?” Meng Chen smiled, but his eyes gleamed with menace.
Qu Yi chuckled and pointed at the Poison-Eating Fruit Tree below, saying, “I didn’t expect Beast Peak to have found the Poison-Eating Fruit Tree. That means you’ve already obtained the Thousand-Poison Fruit. I wonder if it’s with you or already in Beast Peak’s possession.”
Hearing this, Meng Chen abandoned his immediate attack plan and smiled, saying, “Kid, you must come from one of the other nine sects. These minor sects in the cultivation world can’t possibly know about the Thousand-Poison Fruit.”
Clearly, Meng Chen was now worried about Qu Yi’s background. He was confident he could kill Qu Yi in one strike but feared the sect behind him. After all, if someone at Mid-Stage Fusion already knew about it, it meant the sect behind him likely knew as well—this was what worried Meng Chen.
The Thousand-Poison Fruit was a treasure that Beast Peak’s elders would use to compete with those from other sects when entering the Vast Heaven Immortal Mansion. It determined how many magical treasures Beast Peak could acquire and would also affect the ranking of the top ten sects in the cultivation world after the battle for the mansion.
Therefore, before killing Qu Yi, Meng Chen needed to understand his background.
Qu Yi smiled, glanced at the dark leaves below, sensed the tens of thousands of Poison-Eating Fruits with immense life energy, and said, “Meng Chen, shall I tell you my background? Or shall we see who’s really stronger? Don’t think just because you’re at Early Stage Tribulation, you can definitely defeat someone at Mid-Stage Fusion.”
As soon as he spoke, Green Bodhi appeared in Qu Yi’s right hand.
“Haha, a top-grade spiritual weapon—of course it has a source. You, at Mid-Stage Fusion, wielding a top-grade spiritual weapon, think you can compete with me, a warrior at Early Stage Tribulation? How ridiculous and naive. Very well, let me capture you and force you to reveal your background.” Meng Chen laughed mockingly as he drew a sword from his hand.

This sword is a mid-grade spiritual weapon. It was crafted by taking out the entire core of a 100,000-year-old spiritual longevity tree that Meng Chen found, and refining it into a sword. Since Meng Chen began his cultivation and reached the early stage of tribulation, he has been nourishing it with his own vital energy, making it his life-bound magical weapon.

Death!

Just as Meng Chen drew out the Spiritual Longevity Sword, Qu Yi mobilized all the wood-type vital energy in his body and unleashed his wood-type attack technique, “Death,” charging straight at Meng Chen.

Wood-type attack techniques: Withering, Deterioration, Death. Qu Yi used his most powerful move right away.

Qu Yi’s body vanished eerily, only to reappear silently behind Meng Chen almost simultaneously. With a glow from the Green Bodhi, its delicate fragrance combined with the fierce “Death” attack enveloped Meng Chen at once.

Meng Chen was shocked. He never expected Qu Yi to be so fast—almost on par with a warrior in the middle stage of tribulation. Moreover, upon seeing Qu Yi’s speed, Meng Chen felt a sense of familiarity, recalling the scene from Desert Star when “Li Mu” leaped into the cracks in the land of meridians.

Although Qu Yi’s attack was strange, Meng Chen was still a warrior in the early stage of tribulation. The gap in their cultivation levels made it difficult to overcome through ambushes.

Meng Chen didn’t move, but a greenish light shield appeared on his body’s surface, protecting him entirely.

The Green Bodhi struck the light shield, causing ripples of vital energy to spread across it, but it failed to reach Meng Chen himself.

“Kid, your speed is fast, but the quality of your vital energy is still too poor. Although the vital energy of your mid-stage fusion state is pure, it’s still not as good as that of someone in the early stage of tribulation. My vital energy is almost on par with the primal energy of wood—there’s no way you can break through it,” Meng Chen said slowly, turning around with a smile.

His smile carried an air of amusement, as if he thought Qu Yi had tried his best but achieved nothing, and he wanted to tease him.

Upon hearing this, Qu Yi simply smiled faintly, suddenly stowing away the Green Bodhi and pulling out the Four Swords that Break Boundaries, a top-grade earth-type spiritual weapon.

“Huh!” Meng Chen was surprised.

As soon as Qu Yi took out the Four Swords that Break Boundaries, he also unleashed the earth-type attack technique, “Heavenly Pressure.” His body vanished mysteriously once again, reappearing behind Meng Chen. The Four Swords that Break Boundaries were swiftly thrust at Meng Chen’s back.

Earth-type attack techniques: Disintegration, Cracking, Heavenly Pressure. The most powerful move, Heavenly Pressure, once activated, gathered all the earth-type energy in the surrounding space, pressing down like the weight of the heavens, with a force capable of crushing a person.

Meng Chen once again generated a protective barrier, but this time the entire barrier became distorted. The Four Swords of Breaking Boundaries pressed Meng Chen toward the Poisonous Fruit Tree, leaving him no time to resist. Yet, as a cultivator in the early stages of tribulation, he quickly gathered his vital energy and repelled the Four Swords of Breaking Boundaries. Qu Yi stood in the air, smiling broadly. Meng Chen was truly enraged—being suppressed by Qu Yi, a cultivator in the early stages of tribulation, was an insult. “Kid, your skills are still far from enough. Don’t think that a few special moves mean you can provoke a cultivator in the early stages of tribulation. You’re just seeking your own death. Now, brace for my attack!” Meng Chen shouted angrily. Immediately, he swung his Lingshou Sword, and a thousand-meter-long blue blade flew out, aiming at Qu Yi. Realizing he couldn’t block it, Qu Yi quickly used his Wood-type speed technique, “Silent Wind,” and retreated ten thousand meters away, standing there smiling. Seeing Qu Yi’s speed again, Meng Chen was shocked. Though his attacks were powerful, his speed wasn’t faster than Qu Yi’s, making it difficult to defeat him instantly. Suddenly, Meng Chen realized something and exclaimed, “Kid, why do you have two types of vital energy? How can Wood energy and Earth energy coexist in your body?” In the cultivation world, from the Qi Attraction stage to the Mahayana stage, one cultivates a single technique, meaning the energy within the body evolves from the lowest form to the highest, eventually refining into primal energy. The existence of two types of energy in one body defied all understanding, and not only did they coexist, but they had also reached the mid-stage of integration without causing the body to explode—this was truly astonishing. Qu Yi chuckled and suddenly pulled out a Sky-Reaching Water Ball, saying, “Two types of vital energy? Let me show you—I also have Water-type vital energy in my body.” With that, he unleashed his Water-type attack technique, “Silence.” The entire sky fell silent, and Qu Yi suddenly appeared behind Meng Chen. The Sky-Reaching Water Ball was activated at the same time, covering Meng Chen in a torrential waterfall of water. His Water-type attack techniques included “Cold,” “Ice Field,” and “Silence.” This “Silence” technique seemed to reach a state of absolute stillness, annihilating all signs of life.

That waterfall pouring from the sky was actually a flow of Water Energy, descending from the heavens to continuously attack Meng Chen. Moreover, the icy aura contained within the waterfall was something even Meng Chen, who was only in the early stages of his tribulation, could not take lightly. With Qu Yi’s mid-stage Combined Form cultivation and the power of this top-grade spiritual artifact, the spells he cast were equivalent to those of someone in the early stages of tribulation. Of course, Meng Chen, with his true strength at that stage, could still withstand them. But the cold aura from the waterfall slowed down the speed at which Meng Chen could cast his spells, and once that speed slowed, the torrential waterfall would overwhelm his spells entirely. Qu Yi had actually trapped Meng Chen with a sky-reaching water sphere. Meng Chen was so enraged he felt like vomiting blood. At that moment, he even had the illusion that he was in the mid-stage Combined Form while Qu Yi was only in the early stages of tribulation. The battle scenario was utterly unreal! “Kid, you really have some skills—practicing all three elements at once. But how much true energy do you really have? Do you think someone in the mid-stage Combined Form can keep using a top-grade spiritual artifact for long? I’ll let you be trapped and see how long you can hold out,” Meng Chen shouted fiercely, his voice cold. Qu Yi replied, “Is that so? Then let’s see who has more true energy.” With that, Qu Yi suddenly took out three Yuan Ying from his space ring—all from the mid-stage Combined Form—and spat them out, quickly restoring the true energy lost in his body. On Desert Star, Qu Yi had emerged from the cracks in the land and killed two experts at the Lily Combined Form stage, taking their Yuan Yings, which he now used. Seeing that Qu Yi could even devour Yuan Yings and instantly restore his true energy, Meng Chen was no longer surprised but terrified. He realized that beyond his current strength, Qu Yi must possess even more powerful tactics, and his life was in danger. As his true energy recovered, it transformed into Water Energy, making the sky-reaching water sphere spin faster and the waterfall flow even more intense. Realizing Qu Yi’s plan—to truly exhaust his true energy—Meng Chen quickly made a decision. “You think you can trap me with just a top-grade spiritual artifact? Delusional,” Meng Chen shouted loudly. Immediately afterward, a blue glow flashed from Meng Chen’s protective barrier, which expanded infinitely, forcing its way through the waterfall flow. Then, Meng Chen broke through the barrier at the spot where the waterfall appeared and flew away. Just as he tried to teleport away, three more figures suddenly appeared in the sky: Wu Yuan, Golden Qilin, and Illusion Dance Butterfly.