Chapter 322: Chapter 321: Heart
Within a dark, secret chamber in the Lu Family estate in the Imperial Capital.
A figure in black sat upon a stone dais. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and the surrounding firelight flickered as if buffeted by a sinister wind.
’Lu Zhengyi and the others who went to attack the Academy are dead.’
’This is impossible. Could it be that Huaa Que wasn’t injured? No, there’s no way he’s completely unscathed. It seems someone interfered. But who?’
’And the mother Demon Insect is agitated. It seems that person has discovered the child insect.’
The black-clad figure flipped his hand over, revealing an ugly Demon Insect. It was the size of an infant’s thumb, pitch-black, with eight legs on its abdomen. At that moment, the Demon Insect was emitting a faint black glow, its sharp mouthparts snapping open and shut relentlessly...
This kind of behavior only occurred when a child insect had died.
"Venerable Lord."
Just then, Lu Lihuang, the ancestor of the Lu Family and a master at the Half-Step Celestial Human Realm, walked in slowly. He bowed respectfully toward the figure in black.
The figure in black was none other than the Venerable Lord who had thrown the entire Imperial Capital into an uproar.
"What is it."
Lu Lihuang glanced at the Demon Insect in the Venerable Lord’s hand, and his heart lurched. He then said respectfully, "Venerable Lord, on his way back, the Sixth Elder encountered someone."
He then recounted everything concerning Qin Ya in meticulous detail.
Silence fell upon the secret chamber.
After a long while...
The Venerable Lord finally spoke. "The nine Extraordinaries I sent to attack Mingxin Academy have failed. This should have been a surefire mission. It seems the unexpected variable was this Qin Ya. Impressive. Truly impressive."
The Venerable Lord offered a few words of praise.
Lu Lihuang didn’t object. Indeed, in his long life, he had seen countless geniuses. Even the seven great prodigies of the Imperial Capital’s past had failed to truly impress him. But a peerless, monstrous talent like Qin Ya was simply unheard of!
To reach the Extraordinary Realm before the age of twenty!
And what’s more, he could kill ordinary Extraordinary Martial Artists with casual ease.
The thought of such ability sent a chill down his spine. If a genius like that were allowed to fully mature, then even if Lu Lihuang threw everything he had at him, it would be a complete joke.
"Venerable Lord, if we don’t eliminate this person, he will become a grave threat."
"I have my own plans for this. You may go."
"Yes." Lu Lihuang acknowledged the order and left the secret chamber.
The Venerable Lord remained silent for a moment. Then, his figure moved, passing straight through a wall of the chamber and descending into the endless depths below. He arrived in a world bathed in a sanguine glow, where a heart levitated in the subterranean void.
The heart was the size of a human head and emanated a demonic, blood-red light, filling the air with the pungent stench of blood. With every beat, it absorbed streams of subterranean Evil Qi. The Venerable Lord gazed at the heart, his eyes filled with obsession, and murmured, "I used the blood of one hundred thousand people to awaken your vitality. Now, with this endless subterranean Evil Qi, I crave your full revival."
As his words fell, he sharply struck his own wrist with the edge of his other hand. In an instant, winding streams of blood surged out toward the heart. The organ began to pound violently, like a starving dog catching the scent of fresh meat, and it pulsed with what seemed like joy as it devoured every last drop of blood.
After feeding the heart with his blood for several breaths, the Venerable Lord circulated his Demonic Qi to staunch the flow. His face turned deathly pale and his aura grew weak, but he could feel his connection to the heart strengthen. Excitement flashed in his eyes as he whispered, "Ten years. After ten years of waiting, you will finally be mine... oh, King’s Heart!"
"Once I merge with the King’s Heart, what will this paltry Yunxiao Empire matter? Then, I will conquer ten Empires, a hundred Empires! I will make the Human Race my slaves, groveling dogs who wag their tails and beg at my feet! Haha!"
His sinister, eerie laughter echoed through the deep earth...
As if sensing the obsession of the demon before it, the heart’s rhythm quickened, and it devoured even more of the endless subterranean Evil Qi!
’Absorb it. Absorb it all.’
’It took me years to find this earth vein.’
’Absorb, grow, and then become my strength.’
.........
「Mingxin Academy. The Water Moon Secret Realm.」
Qin Ya looked at Huaa Que’s pale face, pursed his lips, and said, "Old man, you’re really a handful. You were supposed to be in seclusion healing, but you just had to worry about this and that. And look, now your injuries are even worse, aren’t they?"
Huaa Que gave a wry smile at his words.
He had used his Divine Thought to observe the events outside, so he knew everything. His healing had been at a critical juncture, but he had been too worried about the safety of Gu Qingfeng, Yun Yu, and the other teachers. As a result, his efforts had failed right at the cusp of success, and his injuries had actually worsened.
"You little rascal, you’re quite something now."
Huaa Que looked at Qin Ya again, his eyes filled with a mixture of relief and wistful emotion. "I remember when we first met. You had just stepped onto the path of Martial Arts and hadn’t even reached the Profound Origin Realm. Heh. In the blink of an eye, you’ve become so powerful."
"Did you need to tell me? You think I’m like you?"
"Except that mouth of yours hasn’t changed a bit. Still as infuriating as ever," Huaa Que snorted, so angry his beard practically stood on end.
"Take this."
The corners of Qin Ya’s mouth turned up as he took out a golden Elixir and handed it to Huaa Que.
Huaa Que took the Elixir and began to speak, "Kid, my injuries can’t be healed by just any old elixir. Based on your skills as a mere Seventh-Grade Alchemist... urgh!"
He couldn’t finish his sentence. A rich Pill Fragrance wafted into his nostrils and seemed to flow directly into his body. It felt as though every pore on his skin had opened up to greedily absorb the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.
He could even feel the severity of his injuries being suppressed.
"This Elixir..."
Huaa Que’s pupils contracted. ’If the mere Pill Qi has such an effect, what Grade is the Elixir itself? It must be at least Ninth Grade!’
’A Ninth-Grade Elixir was practically unheard of in the Yunxiao Empire!’
’The only one Huaa Que had ever heard of was the Golden Sun Treasure Pill, a treasure of the Royal Family. And even that Elixir had been used by Nangong Wen not long ago.’
’It was safe to say that the Ninth-Grade Pill in his hand was very likely the only one in the entire Empire. And to think Qin Ya had just handed it over so casually... Good heavens, the kid actually had treasures like this on him.’
"Qin Ya, tell me, how many more of these Elixirs do you have on you?"
"Not many. Just over a hundred, I guess."
"What did you say? How many? I didn’t hear you clearly."
"Over a hundred," Qin Ya repeated impatiently.
"Hmph, yeah right. As if you’d have that many of such a precious Elixir. You’re bluff... holy..." Huaa Que nearly bit his tongue. He stared at the pile of bottles and jars Qin Ya had produced. The Pill Fragrance wafting from them was just as rich as that from the Elixir in his own hand. His expression went completely slack...
’I must be dreaming, right?’
"Tch. A few measly Ninth-Grade Pills are enough to scare you like this?"
Qin Ya said with a look of disdain as he put the Elixirs away.
"You little brat, get out of here right now!"
Huaa Que was instantly fuming, his beard bristling. He half-pushed, half-shoved Qin Ya out of the Water Moon Secret Realm. Then, gazing at the Elixir in his hand, the corners of his mouth curled into a smile. He whispered softly, "That kid... he’s already reached this level, has he? How wonderful."
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